Department for Transport

Biofuels

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effect of E10 fuel on (a) emissions and (b) fuel consumption.

Trudy Harrison: E10 has been the industry agreed standard for petrol since 2013, and the reference fuel against which new cars are tested for emissions and performance since 2016. The impact assessment published alongside the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) and the Biofuel (Labelling) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, which introduced E10, estimates that the change from E5 unleaded petrol to E10 is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by around 0.7 to 0.8 megatonnes per year. Switching from E5 to E10 is understood to have a relatively small impact on fuel economy of around 1-2 % and this was factored into the impact assessment. There are many factors that influence fuel consumption, making the effect of E10 difficult to assess on the basis of anecdotal evidence or monitoring. The Regulations mandating E10 petrol across Great Britain came into force just last September and will be the subject of a regulatory review considering its impacts, conducted within five years.

Aeroflot: EU Countries

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with his European counterparts on prohibiting Aeroflot flights from operating in the territory and airspace of those countries.

Robert Courts: The Secretary of State for Transport has had recent discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart. Officials from the Department for Transport have engaged with European counterparts on airspace restrictions. Following the UK’s decision to restrict UK airspace to all Russian aircraft (both scheduled and non-scheduled) on 25 February 2022, the European Union announced it would restrict all EU airspace to Russian aircraft from 27 February 2022.

Electric Vehicles: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to local authorities in (a) Merseyside and (b) the North West region to (i) encourage public uptake in electric vehicles and (b) ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place to facilitate increased usage.

Trudy Harrison: Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities (LAs) to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking and £20 million is available this financial year under the scheme to ensure more LAs and residents can benefit. Further local authority support is funded by the Department for Transport and administered by Energy Saving Trust, who offer free expert advice and support to LAs throughout the application process. As of 01 January 2022, local authorities in the North-West of the UK have been awarded over £520,000 through the ORCS, to install 166 chargepoints across the region. This includes 68 chargepoints delivered by Liverpool City Council, and 40 which are being installed by Wirral Council. Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will clearly establish government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders. LAs have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of chargepoints to meet the needs of their local communities and areas, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking. Government is further incentivising the uptake of EVs through the Plug in Vehicle Grants accessible to LAs to convert their fleets and to members of the public to help reduce the up-front purchase price of EVs. These grants have been in place for over a decade and in 2020 Government announced a further a £582 million for the plug-in car, van, motorcycle and taxi grants to 2022/23, and additional funding for targeted incentives has been made available in November 2021. Since 2011, the plug-in vehicle grants have supported over 430,000 ultra-low emission vehicles, of which over 290,000 are zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). To date, the plug-in car grant has provided over £1.3 billion to support the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles. In 2021 industry statistics show that battery electric vehicles were more 11.6% of the new car market, up 76.3% on 2020.

Electric Vehicles: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices in (a) St Helens Metropolitan Borough, (b) Merseyside and (b) the North West.

Trudy Harrison: Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities (LAs) to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking and £20 million is available this financial year under the scheme to ensure more LAs and residents can benefit. Further local authority support is funded by the Department for Transport and administered by Energy Saving Trust, who offer free expert advice and support to LAs throughout the application process. As of 01 January 2022, local authorities in the North-West of the UK have been awarded over £520,000 through the ORCS, to install 166 chargepoints across the region. Our new Local EV Charging Infrastructure Fund will facilitate the rollout of larger scale chargepoint infrastructure projects across England for local areas. Details of how local EV charging will be supported will be announced in due course. The Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will clearly establish government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders. LAs have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of chargepoints to meet the needs of their local communities and areas, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Post Offices: ICT

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's policy is on setting up a compensation scheme for the 555 claimants in the group litigation of Alan Bates and others vs Post Office.

Paul Scully: The 555 sub postmasters involved in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) agreed a settlement of £42.75m plus costs. In bringing this case they performed a public service; I understand their frustration that they have received less compensation than others. BEIS officials have recently met their representatives to understand the harms which they have experienced, and we will continue to work with sub postmasters in the GLO to see what can be done.

Business: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of funding allocated from the public purse to businesses in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry to encourage (i) economic growth and (ii) employment in each of the last three years.

Paul Scully: Through Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, £1.3m of Local Growth Funding supported a Business Investment Fund which provided funding to support business expansion projects, seed funding for new technologies and small scale infrastructure improvements to enhance access to business sites.

Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Minister for the Post Office last met with the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance.

Paul Scully: I am in regular email contact with Mr Alan Bates, founder of the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA). The most recent exchange was on the 8 February 2022. Officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) met with the JFSA on 26 January 2022.

Additional Restrictions Grant and Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant: Shropshire

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding his Department allocated to Shropshire Council under the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant; and how much funding his Department allocated to that council under the Additional Restrictions Grant for businesses that were impacted by Omicron but not covered by that scheme.

Paul Scully: Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support for businesses. Nearly £27 billion has been allocated to Business Support Grants in England, including over £700 million announced in December for businesses most impacted by the Omicron variant.   The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) scheme supports businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors. The third top-up to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) discretionary scheme provides support for other businesses. Shropshire Council has been allocated £5,856,507 in OHLG funding, and £667,495 in further ARG funding. This brings the total ARG funding package for Shropshire to £12,766,827 All data on Government allocations and Local Authority payments is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.

Agriculture: Land

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will issue guidance to local councils on the potential impact of the change of use of agricultural land for solar farms on sustainable, local food production in those areas.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises the importance of preserving greenfield land. Planning policy encourages the effective use of land by recommending the siting of large-scale solar farms on previously developed and non-agricultural land, provided it is not of high environmental value. Where projects are proposed on greenfield sites, guidance seeks to minimise the impacts on the best and most versatile agricultural land and requires developers to justify the use of any such land and ensure projects are designed to avoid, mitigate and where necessary compensate for impacts. Solar farms and agricultural practice can co-exist. Many solar farms are constructed with raised panels that enable continued grazing of livestock. Solar energy can also help farmers raise their revenue streams from land less suited to higher value crop production.

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make funding available for a green retro-fitting programme in Stockport.

Greg Hands: Funding for green retro-fitting programmes is available through schemes like the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Home Upgrade Grant. For example, as part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Consortium, Stockport has received a share of the £10.3 million and £52.3 million from phases 1 and 2 of the Local Authority Delivery Scheme in addition to a portion of the £10.5 million grant funding awarded to the Consortium from Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

Heat Pumps

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial steps he will take to ensure that energy efficient heat pumps can be installed in all households the UK.

Greg Hands: The forthcoming Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide financial support for the installation of low carbon heat technologies in homes and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide grants of £5,000 towards for the installation of air source heat pumps and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps. As part of the 2021 Spending Review process, the Government announced that £800 million has been committed for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund over 2022/23 to 2024/25, and that a further £950 million has been committed for the Home Upgrade Grant over the same period. These schemes operate in England and support the installation of measures which improve the energy efficiency of homes as well as heat pumps.

Minimum Wage

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to introduce a national minimum wage to help with the cost of living.

Paul Scully: The Government considers the independent and expert independent advice of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) when setting the NMW rates. The Low Pay Commission conducts extensive consultation, analysis and evidence gathering when recommending the minimum wage rates balancing the requirements between the needs of workers, the affordability for businesses and the impact on the economy. On 1 April 2022, the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for over 23s by 6.6% to £9.50. This keeps the Government on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the NLW to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. This 59p increase is the largest increase to the NLW since its introduction. A full-time worker on the rate will see their annual earnings rise by over £1,000. All the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for younger workers and apprentices will also increase on 1 April 2022. We expect the increases to the NLW and NMW in April 2022 to give a pay rise to around two and a half million workers.

Electricity: Storage

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the findings of the recent study by Aurora Energy Research that 24GW of long-duration electricity storage will be needed by 2035 to reduce reliance on imported gas and support the Government’s commitment to deliver affordable, clean and secure electricity, if he will (a) publish the Government's response to the call for evidence into large-scale and long-duration electricity storage by the end of March 2022, (b) make it his policy to introduce support to facilitate the deployment of home-grown long-duration electricity storage technologies, specifically an adapted cap and floor mechanism and (c) give clear direction to Ofgem to progress work on the cap and floor mechanism, including a timeline for when it will be established.

Greg Hands: The Government is reviewing the responses to the Call for Evidence on large-scale, long-duration electricity storage, alongside analysis. The Government commissioned on the role of this type of storage in the electricity system and is aiming to publish a response in due course.

Energy: Complaints

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that energy companies provide timely responses to consumer complaints.

Greg Hands: Energy suppliers must have a complaints process. They must reply to complaints within eight weeks. Domestic and microbusiness customers can take their complaint to the Energy Ombudsman after eight weeks if they are not satisfied with the supplier’s response. A complaint can go to the Ombudsman sooner if neither side can reach an agreement and the supplier issues a deadlock letter.

Tickets: Sales

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made on the implementation on the recommendations of the Competition and Market Authorities' report on secondary ticket sales, published on 16 August 2021.

Paul Scully: The Department, working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is considering the CMA’s report and we will issue a government response shortly.

Biofuels: Research

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether preliminary findings have been made from the interdisciplinary research being undertaken in the Perennial biomass crops for GHG removal (PBC4GGR) study.

George Freeman: Research publications funded by UKRI are required to be open access, so any published findings will be accessible to all. Details of this specific project can be found at: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV011553%2F1.

Conditions of Employment

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the outcome of the Measures to reform post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment consultation, which closed on 26 February 2021.

Paul Scully: The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and the available data, which will help inform decisions on detailed policy questions. Any decisions to progress with reforms to non-compete clauses require consideration of the benefits and risks before implementation and we are not able to provide further comment on future plans at this stage. A response to the consultation will be published on the GOV.UK website in due course.

Vaccination: Manufacturing Industries

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2021 to Question 89572 on Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, what steps his Department is taking as a result of those discussions to ensure the UK’s resilience against future disease pandemics and variants.

George Freeman: The Vaccine Taskforce and UK Research and Innovation are engaged with the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), which is a private company, as well as with other companies, to ensure the UK has a strong domestic vaccine manufacturing capability to contribute to the UK’s resilience against COVID-19 and other future health emergencies. Details of the sale process are commercially sensitive. The Government has invested over £380 million to date in the UK’s onshore vaccine manufacturing capacity and capability. At the recent Autumn Budget, and as part of the ‘living with COVID-19’ plan, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a further £354 million for UK life sciences. This includes funding to strengthen UK vaccine manufacturing resilience for the COVID-19 response, including COVID-19 variants, and potential future health emergencies, among other projects.

Dementia

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2022 to Question 100543, how the Government's plans for dementia factor into (a) the Life Sciences Vision and (b) commitments the Government made on dementia moonshot plans in 2019.

George Freeman: In the Life Sciences Vision, the Government committed to a healthcare mission to improve translational capabilities in neurodegeneration and dementia. The Office for Life Sciences are working with the Medical Research Council, industry, charities, academia and the wider sector to scope this Mission.The Government has committed to invest £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases including dementia. We are working on ways to significantly boost further research on dementia to support the delivery of the moonshot and we will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in 2022. This will include our ambitions for dementia research and boosting dementia research funding.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 172 to the Levelling Up White Paper, whether the expectation that at least £7 in every £10 his Department invests will be invested outside the Greater South East will also be met by (a) UKRI, (b) InnovateUK, (c) ARIA, (d) Research England and (e) Research Councils.

George Freeman: I refer the Hon. Member to the answerI gave her on 8 February 2022 to Question 116927.

Research: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the allocations of funding to the Strength in Places Fund of £82 million in 2020-21 and £69 million in 2021-22, whether his Department has plans to reduce that allocation further in 2022-23.

George Freeman: We are investing £200 million over the next three years in 12 Strength in Places projects to develop R&D capacity and support local growth across the UK. The Department is currently working to set detailed R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details about how the funding is allocated across the Spending Review period will be announced in due course.

Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 172 of the Levelling Up White Paper and the funding to be invested by the Advanced Propulsion Centre in a consortium developing electric propulsion systems for heavy goods vehicles in Cwmbran, Wales and Edinburgh, Scotland through the EPIC project, whether the £16 million is coming from the Advanced Propulsion Centre or the EPIC project; and whether that £16 million is in addition to the £31.9 million allocated to developing lightweight electric power trains for heavy goods vehicles as announced by the Advanced Propulsion Centre in its post entitled £54 Million investment as UK automotive industry accelerates towards net-zero emissions.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to box 3.6 on page 172 of the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper which states that the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which will invest almost £16 million in a consortium developing electric propulsion systems for heavy goods vehicles in Cwmbran, Wales and Edinburgh, Scotland through the EPIC project, over what period of time that funding will be made available.

Lee Rowley: The Advanced Propulsion Centre will invest almost £16 Million in a consortium developing electric propulsion systems for heavy goods vehicles in Cwmbran, Wales and Edinburgh, Scotland through the EPIC project. The EPIC project is listed as one of the three projects totalling £54 Million joint investment from APC and industry. Further details of the projects can be found at the following link:£54 Million Investment as UK Automotive Industry Accelerates Towards Net-Zero Emissions - Advanced Propulsion Centre (apcuk.co.uk). The EPIC Project is scheduled to last 42 months with the grant being paid over that period to the consortium members in arrears on the basis of work carried out.

Innovate UK: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 172 of the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper which states that there will be a 36 per cent real terms increase for Innovate UK annual core funding between 2021-22 and 2024-25, how much of that funding money will be spent outside the Greater South East.

George Freeman: The Levelling Up White Paper set out the Government’s mission to increase domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East by at least one third over the Spending Review period and at least 40 percent by 2030. In support of this, BEIS will make levelling up one of the objectives of its R&D investment strategy and will aim for the regions outside the Greater South East to receive at least 55% of its R&D budget by 2024/25. The Department is currently working to set detailed R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details about how the funding is allocated across the Spending Review period will be announced in due course.

Attorney General

Fraud: Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions led by the Serious Fraud Office led to convictions against (a) corporate entities and (b) individuals in each year since 2010.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many Deferred Prosecution Agreements the Serious Fraud Office signed in each year since 2010.

Alex Chalk: Since Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) were introduced in 2014, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has signed a total of 12. The table below provides details of the number of DPAs signed each year since their introduction in 2014. Year201520162017201920202021TotalDPAs signed11223312 Since 2010, 122 SFO led prosecutions have resulted in a conviction. The table below provides details of the number of prosecutions that led to a conviction in each year since 2010, and whether these relate to a corporate entity or an individual.  201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021total Corporate 1   11111  28Individuals18201417591219522114 Total282014186101320524122  In 2022, the SFO is taking forward 7 trials, involving 20 defendants charged against a total of 80 counts. The high volume of trials taking place this year is in part a result of trials not being able to go ahead during the pandemic.Detailed information regarding SFO prosecutions and DPAs can be found on their website: https://www.sfo.gov.uk/.

Fraud: Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions led by the Serious Fraud Office led to convictions against (a) corporate entities and (b) individuals between 25 April and 31 December 2013.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many Deferred Prosecution Agreements the Serious Fraud Office signed between 25 April and 31 December 2013.

Alex Chalk: Between the 25th of April and the 31st of December 2013, no Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) were signed by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), as DPAs were only introduced on 24th of February 2014, under the provisions of Schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Since then, the SFO has entered into a total of 12 DPAs. During the period of the 25th of April 2013 and the 13th of December 2013, 9 SFO led prosecutions resulted in a conviction. All of these were brought against individuals. There were no prosecutions brought against corporate entities during this period. Detailed information regarding SFO prosecutions and DPAs can be found on their website: https://www.sfo.gov.uk/.

Department of Health and Social Care

Genito-urinary Medicine

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy.

Maria Caulfield: We plan to publish the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy later this year.

Ear Wax: Medical Treatments

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of current provision of ear wax cleaning service by GP surgeries across England and (b) impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the ability of GPs to provide that service.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made. General practitioner practices increasingly recommend self-care methods as the primary means to support safe ear wax removal. If a practice considers removal clinically necessary, ear irrigation or microsuction as clinically appropriate should either be undertaken at the practice or the patient should be referred to an appropriate local NHS service. Commissioners are responsible for meeting the health needs of their local population and should ensure there is appropriate access to ear wax removal services.

Health Services: Recruitment

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is on track to meet its target of delivering 26,000 additional primary care staff to support GPs by 2024.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England and NHS Improvement’s current estimates show we are on schedule to deliver 26,000 additional primary care staff by 2024. In December 2021, there were an additional 8,830 direct patient care staff in Primary Care Networks compared to December 2019. The data also shows an increase of 2,267 full time equivalent direct patient care staff.

Health Services: Females

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what engagement his Department has had with (a) survivors of domestic abuse, (b) the domestic abuse sector and (c) the wider violence against women and girls sector, since the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy.

Maria Caulfield: The Call for Evidence, which informs the priorities, content and actions of the Women’s Health Strategy, for England ran for 14 weeks. Organisations and individuals were invited to contribute, including those supporting the victims of domestic abuse and those with lived experience. Since publication, we have continued to engage with representatives from the sector.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Prescriptions

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timetable is for reducing the cost of repeatable hormone replacement therapy prescriptions announced on 29 October 2021.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on implementing the reduction of hormone replacement therapy prescription costs which was announced in October 2021.

Edward Argar: Officials are reviewing implementation options for reducing the cost of National Health Service prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy to be introduced at the earliest opportunity. The Department will outline next steps, including a timetable, in due course.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the length of waiting lists for mental health services in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Gillian Keegan: No formal assessment has been made. Information on waiting lists is not held at constituency level. In Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, referrals to community teams for adults and children have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Services have targeted resources and average waiting times have been maintained at below pre-COVID-19 levels. Waiting times have increased for some services, including psychological therapy within community teams and children’s eating disorders. The CCG continues to plan for anticipated increases in demand. Significant additional funding is committed to address areas where waiting times have been increasing.In the West Midlands, most waiting lists are reducing although some areas such as children’s eating disorder and adult crisis services have seen an increase in demand. NHS Midlands continues to work with services in Coventry and Warwickshire and the West Midlands to reduce waiting times for mental health services.

Mental Health Services: Telemedicine

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of telephone consultations for assessing patients with mental health problems compared to face to face consultation.

Gillian Keegan: No formal assessment has been made. While remote service delivery is effective at meeting the majority of mental health needs, it does not replace the need for face-to-face appointments for a proportion of people whose needs cannot be met by telephone. For all mental health provision, patients should have an informed choice in how their care is delivered.Since April 2020, the provision of 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines has enabled services to become ‘open access’ and allows patients to self-refer to trained mental health professionals in their local area.

Learning Disability: Health Services

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that NHS services are able to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities this winter.

Gillian Keegan: To ensure that the needs of people with a learning disability have been met during the winter, we have worked with the National Health Service to ensure that the COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programmes provides appropriate adjustments to encourage uptake. This includes accessible information such as an easy-read vaccination invitation letter and vaccination consent form and a film about the vaccine to support those with a learning disability and autistic people.NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to support the health and wellbeing of people with a learning disability as part of the national Learning Disability and Autism programme. This includes continuing the provision of annual health checks to people with a learning disability.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of tends in the level of dementia diagnoses in the UK.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Government taking to address the backlog of dementia assessments.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor trends in the dementia diagnosis rate each month. The national target is for 66.7% of people living with dementia to receive a formal diagnosis. Due to the pandemic, the estimated diagnosis declined in 2020 but increased in March 2021 and has remained stable. At the end of January 2022, the rate was 61.6%.In 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. In 2022, we will set out our plans for dementia in England, including a focus on dementia diagnosis.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Mental Health Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2021 to Question 57165, what funding has been made available for local areas to commission services for children presenting with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) following the 2019/20 pilot programme.

Gillian Keegan: Funding to improve access for all children and young people with a suspected eating disorder includes those presenting with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Funding is not allocated for specific eating disorders. The following table shows funding allocated to clinical commissioning groups to enhance community eating disorder services for children and young people in each year since 2019/20. 2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24£41 million£52 million£53 million£53 million£54 million Source: NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24

Eating Disorders: Health Services

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on young people's mental and physical health of lack of spaces in specialist services for young people with eating disorders.

Gillian Keegan: While no formal assessment has been made, we continuously monitor access to services. NHS England and NHS Improvement work with system leaders and regions to prioritise service delivery and investment for vulnerable young people. We are investing £79 million in 2021/22 to enable 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services.

Mental Health Services: Nurses

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of January 5 2022 to Question 90361, on Mental Health Services: Nurses, what steps he is taking to encourage people to study and qualify as mental health nurses.

Gillian Keegan: Baroness Watkins of Tavistock is working with Health Education England on the future of mental health nursing, identifying ways to encourage people to enter the profession. We have introduced grants of at least £5,000 per academic year for eligible pre-registration nursing, midwifery and most allied health professions students on courses at English universities from September 2020. We have also announced an additional £1,000 a year to prioritise groups with shortages, including new students on courses for mental health and learning disability nursing. We are also developing the role of existing mental health nurses, including outlining career pathways and associated training opportunities.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he had made of the adequacy of access for (a) children and (b) adults to NHS mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: While no recent assessment has been made, access to services is monitored through the National Health Service mental health dashboard. This records data on the number of children and young people under 18 years old accessing support through NHS-funded community services and the number of adults entering Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in each reporting period.We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year in mental health services in England by 2023/24 to enable an extra two million people in England to access NHS-funded mental health support. In addition, we are making an additional £500 million available in 2021/22. Of this funding, we have invested an additional £79 million to expand children’s and young people’s mental health services and reduce waiting times and £110 million for adult mental health services, including talking and psychological therapies. We will also invest £87 million to provide enhanced discharge from inpatient mental health care, offering additional support for recovery in the community.

Carers: Finance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact on earning capacity and wellbeing of being an unpaid carer.

Gillian Keegan: The Department has not made a recent assessment. However, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s impact assessment, which accompanied the carer’s leave consultation, considered the impact of caring on the employment and wellbeing of unpaid carers including earnings and is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/871865/carers-leave-consultation-impact-assessment.pdfThe Government response to the consultation on carer’s leave, published last September, committed to introduce a new entitlement to one week of leave for unpaid carers. Legislation to introduce carer’s leave as a day one statutory employment right will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows. The impact assessment will also be updated and re-issued when the legislation is introduced.In addition, we are working with NHS England and the Carers Partnership, to produce a social prescribing summary document to be disseminated to local carers’ organisations. This will upskill staff in carers organisations on social prescribing as an intervention for loneliness, increase unpaid carer health and wellbeing and the consistency of the social prescribing offer to carers in England.

Carers: Coronavirus

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that adults with caring responsibilities can access covid-19 vaccination with no additional impact on their care costs and minimal impacts on their time.

Gillian Keegan: Priority access for COVID-19 vaccinations has been provided for carers and those they care for. In phase one of the vaccination programme, carers were included in priority cohorts four and six invited for vaccination in January and February 2021. In December 2021, the National Health Service directed vaccination centres to allow priority queuing at walk-in centres for carers and those they care for.

Mental Health: Ethnic Groups

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the equity of (a) the risk of mental health problems, (b) access to mental health services and (c) patient outcomes for Black Britons.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, the reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983 aim to address the disparity in detention rates. NHS England and NHS Improvement launched the Advancing Mental Health Equalities Strategy in October 2020 to reduce mental health inequalities in access, experience and outcomes within mental health services.The Strategy also aims to improve the quality of data collected and to establish metrics of equality across mental health, such as variation by ethnicity.

Maternal Mortality: Ethnic Groups

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that Black and Asian women are more likely to die in (a) pregnancy and (b) childbirth than white women in the UK.

Maria Caulfield: The latest MBRRACE-UK report on maternal deaths occurring in 2017 to 2019 identified a small decrease in the maternal mortality rate for women from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups. However, there was no substantive change in the disparity in mortality rates between women from black ethnic groups or women from Asian and white ethnic groups.On 23 February 2022, we announced plans to establish a Maternity Disparities Taskforce to tackle disparities and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths by improving access to effective pre-conception and maternity care for women from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. The Taskforce will bring together experts from across the health system, Government departments and the voluntary sector.On 6 September 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance for Local Maternity Systems, which focuses on actions to reduce disparities in health outcomes for women and babies from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas. This includes an investment of £6.8 million to support the implementation of local action plans.

Veterans: GP Surgeries

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made with the roll out of the Royal College of General Practitioners' veteran friendly GP surgeries accreditation across England; and what steps his Department is taking to support that.

Gillian Keegan: Of 6,701 practices which are open to apply, 1,189 are currently accredited. The accreditation scheme is being widened intended to ensure that every Primary Care Network has an accredited practice in 2023.

Diabetes and Eating Disorders

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has issued to NHS hospital, community and mental health trusts on (a) recognising and (b) managing the risk that prescribed insulin poses to patients with a dual diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and an eating disorder; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement’s ‘Adult Eating Disorders: Community, Inpatient and Intensive Day Patient Care – Guidance for commissioners and providers’, published in August 2019, guidance on managing comorbid conditions including diabetes. NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed two pilot services to test, trial and evaluate the effects of integrated diabetes and mental health pathways for the identification, assessment and treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes and disordered eating in London and the South. The draft evaluation for the pilots found that a means of increasing awareness among healthcare professionals of the risks for those who have type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder, should be developed to aid identification and diagnosis.

Postnatal Depression: Mental Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialist treatment is available for mothers suffering post-natal depression in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

Gillian Keegan: In Coventry and Warwickshire, the commissioned perinatal mental health pathway provides treatment for post-natal depression including specialist multi-disciplinary team assessments, a dedicated perinatal specialist general practitioner and advanced nurse practitioners who are early years specialists.In the West Midlands, support is provided across the Black Country and West Birmingham for early identification of post-natal depression and access to specially trained staff. In the Birmingham and Solihull area, there are the Perinatal Mental Health Specialist Community Services and the Acacia Young Parent’s Project. In the Herefordshire and Worcestershire area the Maternal Mental Health Service offers targeted psychological interventions.The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for a further 24,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24. Specialist community perinatal mental health services have now been deployed across England and we are expanding access to talking therapies within specialist perinatal mental health services through 26 hubs by April 2022.

Mental Health Services: Schools

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of Education Mental Health Practitioners working in schools in England as of 20 January 2022.

Gillian Keegan: No such estimate has been made. Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) may work in or around a variety of education settings such as schools, colleges, special schools or pupil referral units. As of 20 January 2022, 932 EMHP trainees have completed training, with a further 178 due to complete their training by 31 March 2022.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for children and adolescent mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year to enable an extra two million people in England, including 345,000 children and young people, to access National Health Service-funded mental health support by 2023/24. We have made a further £500 million available in 2021/22, which includes £79 million to ensure that approximately 22,500 more children and young people can access community mental health services. A further 2,000 children and young people will be able to access eating disorder services and we are accelerating the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges.NHS England and NHS Improvement have piloted a four-week waiting time standard to inform an assessment of the merits of introducing a waiting time standard. NHS England and NHS Improvement consulted on the definition and introduction of five waiting time standards. The consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and found that more than 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to introduce additional mental health access and waiting time measures, including for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services. The consultation report is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/02/widespread-support-for-proposed-nhs-mental-health-access-standards-for-patients/We will work with NHS England and NHS Improvement on the next steps for the proposed mental health access and waiting measures.

Allergies: Health Services

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with NHS England on the establishment of a National Clinical Director for Allergy of State for Health and Social Care.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement have no current plans to appoint a National Clinical Director for allergy. This is kept under review and new National Clinical Directors or Specialty Advisers are appointed as necessary. The Department hosted a roundtable meeting in January 2022, attended by NHS England and NHS Improvement and stakeholders, where the potential benefits of a National Clinical Director for Allergy was discussed.

Allergies: Health Services

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the establishment of a National Clinical Director for Allergies.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement have no current plans to appoint a National Clinical Director for allergy. This is kept under review and new National Clinical Directors or Specialty Advisers are appointed as necessary. The Department hosted a roundtable meeting in January 2022, attended by NHS England and NHS Improvement and stakeholders, where the potential benefits of a National Clinical Director for Allergy was discussed.

Cystic Fibrosis: Health Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on specialist cystic fibrosis services of the rollout of Statutory Integrated Care Systems.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, subject to the passage of the Health and Care Bill, certain specialised services may become subject to joint commissioning arrangements between NHS England and multiple integrated care boards in the future.The services which would benefit from this approach remain under consideration and further details will be set out ahead of any decisions to formally delegate commissioning responsibility in the future. NHS England will retain overall accountability for all specialised services, including those that are jointly commissioned or delegated, as well as retaining responsibility for setting national standards and clinical policies determining access to both new and existing treatments.

Care Homes: Special Educational Needs

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the Adult Social Care Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund has been distributed to residential specialist colleges registered as care homes.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not held centrally. Following the closure of the Fund, the Department will undertake an evaluation of the activities and spend conducted. As per the grant conditions for the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, local authorities should ensure that funding is allocated to a provider that is registered with the Care Quality Commission. Local authorities are best placed to make decisions around how funds should be spent within the area.

Mental Health Services: Children

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to publish their response to the consultation on the introduction of five waiting time standards for child and adolescent mental health services.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a waiting time standard for children’s mental health services.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2021 to Question 84320 on Mental Health Services: Children, when his Department plans to publish the results of the NHS England and NHS Improvement consultation on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement have piloted a four-week waiting time standard to inform the Department’s assessment of the merits of introducing a waiting time standard. NHS England and NHS Improvement consulted on the definition and introduction of five waiting time standards. The consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and found that more than 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to introduce additional mental health access and waiting time measures, including for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services. The consultation’s report is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/02/widespread-support-for-proposed-nhs-mental-health-access-standards-for-patients/We will work with NHS England and NHS Improvement on the next steps for the proposed mental health access and waiting measures.

Care Workers: Coronavirus

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to remove the requirement for workers in care homes to be vaccinated against covid-19.

Gillian Keegan: On 31 January 2022, the Government announced plans to revoke the requirement for workers in care homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This change is subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval.

Mental Health Services: Children

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average waiting time for CAMHS appointments.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children and adolescents are awaiting CAMHS treatment in the Darlington constituency as of 21 February 2022.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that children and adolescents in Darlington constituency have access to CAMHS treatment.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year in mental health services by 2023/24, to allow approximately 345,000 more children and young people to access National Health Service-funded mental health services each year. On 5 March 2021, we announced an additional £79 million in 2021/22 for children and young people’s mental health services, for approximately 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and to accelerate the coverage of mental health support teams, including in Darlington. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also announced a further £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health. Data on the number of people awaiting treatment from children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is not available as a national access and waiting times standard has not yet been defined. NHS England and NHS Improvement consulted on the definition and introduction of five waiting time standards. The consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and found that more than 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to introduce additional mental health access and waiting time measures, including for children and young people presenting to community-based mental health services. The consultation report is available at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/2022/02/widespread-support-for-proposed-nhs-mental-health-access-standards-for-patients We will work with NHS England and NHS Improvement on the next steps for the proposed mental health access and waiting measures.

Mental Health Services: Coronavirus

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the 14 day covid-19 isolation periods in children’s mental health units on (a) the children using the units and (b) their parents.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, commissioners and clinical teams have used digital forms of communication to maintain and, where possible, enhance therapeutic engagement, including supporting contact with parents and families.

Mental Health Services: Children

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the average time spent on a waiting list for a CAMHS assessment; and whether he  plans to support CAMHS to decrease that time.

Gillian Keegan: No assessment has been made as a national access and waiting times standard for child and adolescent mental health services has not yet been defined. NHS England and NHS Improvement consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards as part of its clinically-led review of National Health Service access standards. On 22 February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement published the outcomes of the consultation, which is available at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-clinically-led-review-of-standards NHS England and NHS Improvement will now work with the Department and stakeholders how these ambitions can be achieved ahead of any formal performance thresholds. On 5 March 2021, we announced an additional £79 million in 2021/22 for children and young people’s mental health services, allowing approximately 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and to accelerate the coverage of mental health support teams. NHS England and NHS Improvement also announced a further £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health.

Mental Health Services: Coronavirus

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the 14 day covid-19 isolation period operating within children’s mental health units.

Gillian Keegan: On 17 January 2022, guidance was updated to recommend that the inpatient isolation period for COVID-19 cases or contacts is reduced from 14 days to 10 days, with some exceptions. It also outlines that NHS services, including children’s mental health units, should take a risk assessment approach to implementing the guidance in their area.

Eating Disorders: Children and Young People

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2022 to Question 119788, what steps he is taking to tackle to the increase in waiting times for children and young people with eating disorders.

Gillian Keegan: We have invested a further £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children’s mental health services, including allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and reducing waiting times. NHS England and NHS Improvement also announced an additional £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health, including eating disorders.This investment supplements existing plans to expand and improve mental health services, including eating disorder services, as set out in the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20-2023/24. Since 2016, additional funding has been provided for children and young people's community eating disorder services each year, with £53 million per year from 2021/22. This will enhance the capacity of the 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of mental health patients in out of area placements; and how much that practice cost the NHS in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.

Gillian Keegan: No formal assessment has been made. The NHS Long Term Plan maintained the ambition in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health to eliminate inappropriate acute adult out of area placements (OAPs) by 2020/21. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic response, this has not yet been achieved. The latest data, for October 2021, shows that there were 620 active inappropriate acute adult OAPs, accounting for 89% of the total acute adult OAPs. All systems with inappropriate acute adult OAPs are required to refresh their local plans to ensure these placements are eliminated as soon as reasonably possible.The total estimated cost of adult acute inappropriate OAPs between January 2020 and December 2020 was £105,352,512. The total estimated cost for 2021 is not yet available.

Eating Disorders

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to establish a national register of eating disorders to capture illness data and death relating to that condition.

Gillian Keegan: We have no current plans to do so. However, we are working with all providers, including those in the third and independent sector, to ensure that comprehensive data is submitted to the Mental Health Services Dataset. We are also improving data on prevalence, including the addition of eating disorders in NHS Digital’s Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, which is due to launch in April 2022.

Allergies: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision for people with allergies.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, we are working with delivery partners and stakeholders to ensure the appropriate workforce, clinical leadership and expert guidance is in place to support those living with allergies. The majority of those with allergies are supported by local services commissioned through clinical commissioning groups, with specialist allergy clinics available for those with more severe or complex allergic conditions.

Palliative Care

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research by Cardiff University’s Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre, Public attitudes to death and dying in the UK, published on 2 November 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that report that only 8 per cent of people in their last few years of life have talked to their doctors or nurses about their end of life care wishes; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people with a terminal illness are given the opportunity to discuss their end of life care preferences with a healthcare professional.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research by Cardiff University’s Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre, Public attitudes to death and dying in the UK, published on 2 November 2021, what steps he is taking to improve access to information about advance planning of care for people with a terminal illness in the context of the finding from that research that over half of people in the UK do not know where to find information on planning for their care after diagnosis.

Gillian Keegan: We recognise that high quality palliative and end of life care should include the opportunity for individuals to discuss their wishes and preferences so that these can be taken fully into account in the provision of their future care, also known as advance care planning.Resources available to support healthcare professionals in engaging people in advance care planning includes guidelines and a quality statement from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), a specific module within the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme hosted by Health Education England. Advice is also available on NHS.UK at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-life-care/why-plan-ahead/NHS England and NHS Improvement will be publishing universal principles in spring 2022, to facilitate a consistent national approach in advance care planning in England. The principles will focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences when they are nearing the end of life.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps has he taken to ensure those who are living with dementia are able to receive a timely medical diagnosis.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living with dementia without a medical diagnosis in (a) the South East and (b) Slough.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made as the information is not held in the format requested. However, NHS Digital publishes monthly estimated dementia diagnosis data in the recorded dementia diagnosis official statistics. Data for January 2022 showed that the number of patients with a recorded diagnosis of dementia was 72,475 in the South East and 581 in Slough. The estimated number of patients with dementia was 120,808 in the South East and 954 in Slough.In 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. We will set out our plans for dementia in England later this year, including a focus on dementia diagnosis.

North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the proposed merger of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will confirm the statement made by the Minister for Health in his correspondence with the Member for Stockton North on the 25 January 2022 that there are currently no plans to merge the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.

Edward Argar: There are currently no plans to formally merge North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust. However, we are aware of proposals to increase working relationships between the Trusts. There have been no specific discussions on a proposed merger.

Health Services: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to increase capacity in the NHS.

Edward Argar: The National Health Service is increasing capacity through the expansion of virtual wards to safely care for patients at home, the use of independent sector capacity and establishing a national discharge taskforce to safely maximise patient discharge. We have also announced the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, which sets out £8 billion to allow the NHS recover and expand elective services over the next three years.We are investing £2.3 billion in diagnostics to increase the number of community diagnostic centres to 160 by March 2025 and £1.5 billion to support elective recovery, including through the continued deployment of surgical hubs.  This investment will deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million more checks, scans and procedures and 30% more elective activity by 2024/25.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that immunosuppressed people, such as those with kidney transplants, can book their fourth dose of the covid-19 vaccination online; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle potential difficulties that vaccinators encounter when recording fourth booster covid-19 doses of immunosuppressed people on the Pinnacle IT system.

Maggie Throup: The National Booking System was updated on 31 January 2022 to enable severely immunosuppressed individuals aged 16 years old and over to book a fourth dose online. Individuals must have received a letter from a general practitioner (GP) or hospital specialist inviting them to book a third primary or booster dose; be aged 16 years old and over; and have received their third primary dose at least two months prior to making the booking.NHS England and NHS Improvement are not aware of any specific issues relating to the recording of fourth doses. Guidance was sent to all vaccination sites on 7 January 2022 reminding GPs and hospitals of the existing guidance on the recording of third primary and booster doses on the Point of Care system.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of its Living Safely with Covid strategy on the Panoramic study.

Maggie Throup: Limited symptomatic testing will be available for a small number of at-risk groups. The forthcoming testing strategy will provide further detail on eligible groups, including for patients who may be eligible to enrol in the Panoramic study.

Travel: Coronavirus

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what basis the Government had made the decision of requiring a PCR test for those who have had covid-19 in the last 90 days, upon arriving in the UK, while the advice pre-departure had been to do an LFT as a PCR could show positive.

Maggie Throup: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were required for those with COVID-19 infection in the last 90 days to identify not only those with the virus but also new variants which may have been acquired overseas. Positive PCR tests for arrivals were sequenced to understand potential emerging variants. Recent infection and associated immunity is not associated with a residual positive PCR.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the different fee levels for administering individual covid-19 vaccination doses that have been applicable since the programme began are; and how much has been paid as of 4 January 2022.

Maggie Throup: To 30 November 2021, the fee applied to all doses administered by a Primary Care Network (PCN) or community pharmacy site was £12.58. Between 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022, in order to accelerate the booster vaccination programme, this standard fee was increased to £15 per dose. This applied to any dose administered from Monday-Saturday. For any dose administered on a Sunday or Bank Holiday between 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022, an increased £20 fee was applicable. This was also applied to any dose administered between 25 December 2021 and 3 January 2022.Since 14 December 2020, PCN and community pharmacy sites could claim the relevant Item of Service (IoS) fee plus an additional £10 for each dose administered to housebound patients during the specified time period. From 16 September 2021 to 12 December 2021, the standard housebound supplement per dose was increased to £30 per dose for third or booster dose. Between 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022, the IoS fee plus an additional £10 could be claimed for each dose administered to severely immunosuppressed patients. PCN and Community Pharmacy sites can claim the IoS fee plus an additional £10 for each dose administered to clinically extremely vulnerable 12 to 15 year olds.The information requested as of 4 January 2022 is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Screening

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of lateral flow tests were procured through Government contracts with Innova.

Maggie Throup: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to procure and roll out (a) AstraZeneca's Evusheld and (b) other preventative treatments, for those in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and immunosuppressed people, as remaining covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Maggie Throup: Evusheld is not currently authorised for use in the United Kingdom. The Government continues to monitor a range of products, including Evusheld. However, negotiations with companies are commercially sensitive.The RAPID C-19 collaboration has enabled active multi-agency oversight of national and international trial evidence for COVID-19 therapies as it emerges, both in potential treatment and prophylactic indications. Where material evidence is identified, this has enabled the rapid formation and implementation of UK wide clinical access policies. To date, the evidence has most strongly supported treatment use, although the evidence around prophylactic use will continue to be reviewed.There are currently two routes to accessing treatments for COVID-19 for non-hospitalised patients in England with 1.3 million of the highest risk patients eligible directly for monoclonal antibody sotrovimab and antiviral drugs molnupiravir, Paxlovid and Remdesivir. In addition, over 20 million people are eligible for the antiviral molnupiravir through the PANORAMIC national study run by the University of Oxford. These treatments are used to prevent progression to severe disease and hospitalisation.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who are immunosuppressed have not been offered a second dose of the covid-19 vaccine; and how many of those people have blood cancer.

Maggie Throup: All those with immunosuppression aged 16 years old and over living in the United Kingdom have been offered a second primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Immunosuppressed children aged 12 to 15 years old have also now been offered a second primary dose. The offer of first primary doses to immunosuppressed children aged five to 11 years old commenced on 31 January 2022. Vaccination data for those with blood cancer is not held in the format requested. As of 20 February 2022, data for those formerly regarded as clinically extremely vulnerable, which includes the immunosuppressed and those with blood cancer, shows an uptake rate of over 93.9% for a second primary dose.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of the covid-19 vaccine to people who are housebound in (a) Weaver Vale constituency and (b) the UK; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all people who are housebound are offered the covid-19 vaccine.

Maggie Throup: Every eligible adult in England aged 18 years old and over has been offered a COVID-19 booster vaccination, including all those who are housebound. Local arrangements have been in place, with general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacies, supported by volunteers, visiting those who are housebound.National Health Service regions, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and community pharmacy-led local vaccination services have monitored progress and identified any further interventions required. In Weaver Vale, Halton Clinical Commissioning Group has worked with its PCNs and vaccination services to ensure that people who are housebound have been fully vaccinated and received booster doses, based on records for housebound patients held by individual practices. In the first week of January 2022, the PCNs in the area confirmed that all eligible housebound patients had been offered a booster vaccination.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rate of covid-19 vaccine wastage is; and what assessment he has made of whether that rate will change in the coming months.

Maggie Throup: The rate of COVID-19 vaccine wastage is not available in the format requested. Therefore, no assessment of future wastage has been made.

Coronavirus: Screening

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of covid-19 test kits are imported.

Maggie Throup: Currently 90% of lateral flow device tests are imported although we expect this to decrease to approximately 70 to 80%.

Health: Screening

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had any discussions with Cabinet colleagues on repurposing covid-19 PCR testing sites for other medical tests, once they are no longer required.

Maggie Throup: There have been no specific discussions. The future use of COVID-19 testing sites has not yet been determined.

SureScreen Diagnostics

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 lateral flow tests were supplied to NHS Test and Trace by SureScreen Diagnostics in each month between February 2021 and January 2022.

Maggie Throup: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Coronavirus: Screening

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether lateral flow tests carried out at home and reported to the NHS are included in the total daily covid-19 infections statistics; and whether those test results are included on the figures given for people tested positive data section on the UK’s Summary on Coronavirus on GOV.UK.

Maggie Throup: Lateral flow device (LFD) tests reported through the National Testing Programme digital infrastructure are included in the daily statistics. If a LFD test is not registered digitally, it is not included. The data presented on the dashboard includes all de-duplicated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results; in England, positive rapid LFD tests that are not followed by a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours; and in Northern Ireland, all positive rapid LFD tests.Cases for Scotland and Wales do not include those identified by LFD tests at present. Public Health Scotland is planning to incorporate this data. There are no plans to include this data in Wales.

Obesity: Health Services

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical intervention policies are based on Body Mass Index.

Maggie Throup: The information requested is not collected centrally. We would expect clinical commissioning groups to base their policies on relevant National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, published research and appropriate good practice.

Coronavirus: Travel Restrictions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Government's covid-19 travel restrictions on the spread of the omicron variant.

Maggie Throup: The assessment of the effectiveness of travel restrictions is ongoing.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of chemists being unable to supply covid-19 lateral flow tests to people in Hemsworth constituency where they had ​received collection codes for tests from Gov.uk.

Maggie Throup: During the Christmas 2021 period, we are aware that demand exceeded the supply of lateral flow device tests through GOV.UK or pharmacies, including in Hemsworth. In January 2022, we procured additional tests and increased delivery capacity with approximately 90 million tests distributed in the United Kingdom.

Coronavirus: Screening

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the risk to (a) public health and (b) transmission of covid-19 of the gov.uk stating that there are no home delivery slots for covid-19 lateral flow tests available.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made. However, the UK Health Security Agency increased both the supply of tests and distribution capability. From January 2022, we expected to deliver approximately seven million tests a day through GOV.UK and 90 million tests a week through all delivery channels.

Coronavirus: Screening

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the UK’s covid-19 testing infrastructure in comparison to other countries.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made as robust data on international capacity is not held.

Travel: Quarantine

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on quarantine hotels by travellers entering the UK following the re-introduction of the covid-19 red list in November 2021; and if he will refund people who paid for quarantine once it became apparent that the omicron variant was transmitting in the community.

Maggie Throup: Following the re-introduction of the ‘red list’ on 26 November 2021, passengers spent £15.2 million on quarantine services. There are no refunds or financial compensation for guests who completed their quarantine period and had checked out of the quarantine hotel on or before 4am on 15 December. From 4pm on 15 December, guests with a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result and those who had not yet taken a PCR test were able to depart quarantine following the removal of all countries from the ‘red list’. In England, guests who were released early from managed quarantine are entitled to a refund for the unused part of their managed quarantine.

Coronavirus: Wales

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of Welsh companies that supply lateral flow tests on the long-term production of testing devices.

Maggie Throup: The Department has had no specific discussions.

Healthy Start Scheme: Social Security Benefits

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department carried out an equality impact assessment on the decision to not offer new parents on legacy benefits access to the Healthy Start scheme.

Maggie Throup: Legislation on eligibility for the Healthy Start scheme for pregnant women and families on legacy benefits was introduced in 2005 and updated in 2008. An equality impact assessment was carried out in 2008 and a regulatory impact assessment was carried out in 2005.

HIV Infection: Screening

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the HIV Action Plan published on 1 December 2021, how sexual health services will be assessed on delivering a 90% HIV testing offer rate to first time attendees.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the HIV Action Plan published on 1 December 2021, how sexual health services will be assessed on their (a) HIV testing offer and (b) HIV testing uptake rates for all attendees.

Maggie Throup: The monitoring and evaluation framework for the HIV Action Plan in England is currently being developed and will be published later in 2022. The detail of how sexual health services will be assessed on HIV testing offer and uptake rates among all attendees is under review and will be included as part of the monitoring and evaluation framework.

Coronavirus: Screening

Steven Bonnar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Devolved Administrations on ending the free provision of covid-19 lateral flow tests..

Maggie Throup: Discussions with the devolved administrations took place in advance of the publication of ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’. In addition, officials are in regular contact understand the approach taken by each nation and any implementation issues.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of uptake of the covid-19 vaccine booster as of 10 January 2022.

Maggie Throup: As of 10 January 2022, 80% of eligible adults in England had received a booster or third dose, including over 90% of people over 50 years old.

Healthy Start Scheme: Telephone Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many calls the Healthy Start voucher scheme helpline has received since its digitisation in December 2021.

Maggie Throup: From 1 December 2021 until 17 February 2022, the Healthy Start Issuing Unit, which administers the paper voucher scheme, received 52,294 calls into their contact centre.Between 1 November 2022 and 22 February 2022, 119,959 calls were received by the NHS Business Services Authority’s customer contact centre.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of time for resolution of complaints with the vaccination data resolution service regarding incorrect covid-19 vaccination records is.

Maggie Throup: This information is not held centrally.Vaccine data inaccuracy issues are rectified by the Vaccine Data Resolution Service (VDRS). If an individual believes that their COVID-19 vaccine records are inaccurate, they should contact 119 and ask to be referred to the VDRS. The VDRS will contact the individual within 21 days, and rectify the issue. Where an issue concerns vaccinations received abroad, an individual must book an appointment via the National Booking System and attend a face-to-face appointment to verify evidence of vaccination.

Healthy Start Scheme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether information on the uptake of the Healthy Start scheme by (a) region and (b) local authority will be published online; and when the next progress report by the NHS Business Services Authority will be published.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority is currently transferring the Healthy Start Scheme from the Healthy Start Issuing Unit. Once completed, data will be made available by region and local authority. The NHS Business Service Authority do not publish progress reports.

Healthy Start Scheme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the number of beneficiaries of the Healthy Start scheme (a) before and (b) after the digitisation of that scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority is currently transferring the Healthy Start Scheme from the Healthy Start Issuing Unit. Once completed, the number of beneficiaries on the digital scheme will be made available. Prior to the transfer process, there were 346,754 beneficiaries on the Healthy Start paper voucher scheme.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help protect the most clinically vulnerable from covid-19.

Maggie Throup: The shielding programme ended on 15 September 2021. People previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to follow general guidance, while considering additional precautions to reduce the risk of infection. On 24 December 2021, updated public health advice was issued, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19In addition, updated public health advice was issued for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-riskNHS England and NHS Improvement have written to general practices and hospital trusts in England to raise awareness of this new guidance.

Abortion: Drugs

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to end the temporary approval allowing home use of both pills for early medical abortion in line with the lifting of remaining covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: We have always been clear that the approval which enabled home use of both pills for early medical abortion would be temporary and was in response to the unprecedented situation with the COVID pandemic. Due to the success and impact of the national vaccination and booster programme, face to face abortion services will return by 29 August 2022. A six-month extension of the temporary approval has been made to enable a safe and reliable return to these arrangements.

Coronavirus: Screening

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on people with caring responsibilities of his decision to end the free provision of covid-19 lateral flow tests.

Maggie Throup: The approach to managing COVID-19 in adult social care will continue to evolve but will focus on providing care and supporting those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19. We will continue to make symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. Further details on the future of asymptomatic lateral flow testing in adult social care and for eligible groups will be provided in due course. We will continue to keep the impact of these policies on people with caring responsibilities under review.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2021 to Question 88623 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, for what reasons it is Government policy that the NHS is not required to (a) check the immigration status of those receiving covid-19 vaccinations and (b) report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.

Maggie Throup: For public health protection, it is important that those who arrive in the United Kingdom, including undocumented migrants, are not deterred from coming forward for COVID-19 vaccinations. Therefore, neither a National Health Service number or registration with a general practitioner is required to receive a vaccination.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons for specified minutes, notes, and correspondence relating to Government contracts awarded to Randox Laboratories Ltd, HC1072, laid before the House on 17 November 2021, whether his Department searched for relevant WhatsApp messages (a) to or (b) from the former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Lord Bethell, in meeting the terms of the Humble Address.

Edward Argar: The Department has followed a rigorous process to identify all relevant documents within the scope of the Humble Address. This included searching Departmental and personal communications, such as the personal WhatsApp messages of current and former ministers, including the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell).

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what alternative steps he plans to take to identify and track the progress of new variants of covid-19 in the context of his decision to end free provision of covid-19 lateral flows tests.

Maggie Throup: We will continue to monitor cases and retain surveillance, in hospital settings in particular, including using genomic sequencing to allow insights into the evolution of the virus. We will prepare and maintain the capabilities to increase testing and other tools such as laboratory infrastructure should this be required against a new variant.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people whose covid-19 vaccination records are incorrect.

Maggie Throup: It is estimated that less than 0.5% of COVID-19 vaccination records are incorrect.Vaccine data inaccuracy issues are rectified by the Vaccine Data Resolution Service (VDRS). If an individual believes that their COVID-19 vaccine records are inaccurate, they should contact 119 and ask to be referred to the VDRS. The VDRS will contact the individual within 21 days, and rectify the issue. Where an issue concerns vaccinations received abroad, an individual must book an appointment via the National Booking System and attend a face-to-face appointment to verify evidence of vaccination.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will add to the National Booking System covid-19 vaccination centres which have the capacity of 500 vaccinations a week but which are below the current 1,000 vaccinations per week threshold.

Maggie Throup: The criteria for adding new vaccination centres or sites to the National Booking System (NBS) is dependent upon the delivery model. All community pharmacy vaccination sites and mass vaccination centres are automatically added to the NBS regardless of their capacity. Regional systems prioritise the addition of sites to the NBS according to local need and may also include smaller sites such as ‘pop-ups’ to meet local care needs.

Integrated Care Boards: Recruitment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in light of the removal of the prohibition on elected councillors serving on Integrated Care Boards, whether he plans to rerun the recruitment process for these bodies.

Edward Argar: The minimum membership of the integrated care board includes at least one member drawn from the local authority, or local authorities, with statutory social care responsibility whose area falls partly or wholly within the area of the ICB. Appointments, or designate appointments, for these board members have not yet been made.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of complaints logged with the vaccination data resolution service regarding incorrect covid vaccination records have been resolved.

Maggie Throup: This information is not held in the format requested.If an individual believes that their COVID-19 vaccine records are inaccurate, they can contact 119 and ask to be referred to the Vaccine Data Resolution Service (VDRS). The VDRS will contact individual within 21 days and attempt to rectify the issue. Where an issue concerns vaccinations received abroad, individuals must book an appointment via the National Booking System to attend a face-to-face appointment to verify evidence of vaccination.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the percentage of the eligible population in (a) Slough (b) Thames Valley and (c) England who have been vaccinated with their (a) third and (b) booster vaccine.

Maggie Throup: The information is not held in the format requested. Information for Thames Valley is not collected, while data for the Slough local authority area and England shows a combined figure for third primary doses and booster vaccinations.As of 6 February 2022, 63,089 adults in the Slough local authority area had received either a third primary dose or booster vaccination. Based on the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) mid-year 2020 population estimates, this equates to 59.6% of adults in the local authority area. As of 6 February 2022, in England 31,173,736 adults had received their third primary or booster vaccination. This equates to 70.1% of adults in England, according the ONS’ 2020 population estimates.The number of individuals identified as severely immunosuppressed who have been vaccinated with a third primary dose in England is published on an ad hoc basis. The most recent data as of 20 December 2021 shows that 87.7% of individuals identified as severely immunosuppressed had received a third primary dose.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Government does not recommend (a) FFP2 and (b) FFP3 face masks as offering additional protection to the wearer against covid-19.

Maggie Throup: The Health and Safety Executive does not recommend the routine use of FFP2 masks in clinical practice as these are of lower efficacy than FFP3 masks. FFP3 masks are recommended for use in some health and care settings. Infection prevention and control guidance for staff in all health and care settings states that FFP3 masks should be worn by staff caring for patients where a risk assessment indicates the need.FFP3 masks and other higher specification personal protective equipment must be professionally fit tested to ensure that air flows through the filter rather than around the mask. If these masks are provided without fit testing, it is not clear that they will be effective. Additionally, it may be difficult for members of the public to safely and comfortably wear a fitted mask for extended periods of time. Face coverings are no longer mandated by law.

Coronavirus: Greater London

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people (a) are eligible for and (b) have received a fourth dose of a covid-19 vaccination in (i) Waltham Forest (ii) Walthamstow (iii) Chingford and Wood Green and (iv) Leyton and Wanstead.

Maggie Throup: The information requested on the number of people eligible for a fourth dose is not held centrally. It is not possible to identify all severely immunosuppressed individuals from nationally collected data and the timing of a fourth booster dose is dependent on a clinician’s understanding of an individual’s immune status and any planned treatment. Data on the number of people who have received a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine is not currently available in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Drugs

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what initiatives his Department is supporting to establish defences against covid-19 through pharmaceutical interventions.

Maggie Throup: More than 80% of all adults in England have now received a booster vaccination providing sufficient levels of immunity within the population for vaccines to become the first line of defence.The Government has also made a range of treatment options available, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, for those who cannot receive a vaccine for medical reasons or for whom vaccines may be less effective. We continue to support six phase III national platform clinical trials to identify safe and effective therapeutics.

Health Professions: Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential cost to the public purse of training new doctors and nurses in the event that the mandatory covid-19 vaccine policy results in existing staff leaving the NHS.

Edward Argar: Following public consultation and consideration of the latest clinical evidence on the Omicron variant, the Government has revoked the regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment in health and care settings.

Coronavirus: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to move responsibility for the funding and infrastructure support for covid-19 services in the future to (a) integrated care systems or (b) primary care.

Edward Argar: Many services to prevent or address COVID-19 such as vaccination services and post-COVID-19 clinics are administered at a local level. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’ sets out plans to recover services. Subject to the passage of the Health and Care Bill, we expect COVID-19 services, with other clinical commissioning group functions, to be transferred to integrated care boards.

Kidney Diseases: Dialysis Machines

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to current and projected increases in domestic energy costs, what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in HM Treasury on providing financial support to individuals receiving energy-intensive kidney dialysis treatment at home; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising energy costs on (a) kidney patients receiving dialysis treatment and (b) other individuals using large volumes of electricity to treat medical conditions at home.

Edward Argar: We have had no specific discussions and no assessment has been made. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for monitoring the energy market to ensure it meets the need of all consumers, including those receiving medical treatment at home.

Patients: Travel

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the fuel claim allowances for NHS patients travelling from rural areas to medical appointments in the context of rising fuel costs.

Edward Argar: No assessment has been made. In England, the level of fuel costs which can be claimed by patients under the Healthcare Travel Costs scheme is determined locally by National Health Service organisations.

Strokes: Prescriptions

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of stroke patients being automatically eligible for medical exemption certificates in respect of prescription costs.

Edward Argar: There are no current plans to review or extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include long term conditions such as stroke. Approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and arrangements are already in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension. Some stroke patients may meet the eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and may therefore be in receipt of free prescriptions.

Department for Education

Students: Loans

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the ability of graduates to meet the new payment of student loans regime in the context of the rise in the cost of living.

Michelle Donelan: The student finance and funding system must provide value for money for all of society at a time of rising costs.While our reforms will ask graduates to repay for longer, they will also increase certainty for borrowers by reducing interest rates to match inflation only. This means that, under these terms, borrowers will not have to repay more than they have borrowed, when adjusted for inflation.The student finance system will continue to protect lower earners and borrowers who experience a reduction in their income. If a borrower’s income is below the new repayment threshold of £25,000 per year, or the weekly or monthly equivalent, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, will also be written off at the end of the loan term at no detriment to individual borrowers. No commercial loans offer this level of borrower protection.The new loan terms will be introduced for entrants to higher education starting on 1 September 2023 onwards. Students studying three-year degrees commencing in autumn 2023 will be required to make repayments only from April 2027, and only then when they are earning over the repayment threshold.This student finance package is fair and sustainable for both students and the taxpayer, and our reforms ensure that higher education in England remains open to those with the ability and the ambition to benefit from it. We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure this remains the case.

Department for Education: Internet

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which websites that are wholly or partly under the control of his Department or used to deliver services under contract to the Government and are (a) managed directly by his Department, (b) managed for his Department by other arms of Government and or (c) managed under contract by private companies or other non-governmental organizations have been available during school hours for (i) 99.9 per cent of the time or more, (ii) 99.0 to 99.9 per cent of the time, (c) 98.0 to 98.9 per cent of the time, (d) 97.0 to 97.9 per cent of the time and (e) less than 97.0 per cent of the time in each of the last twelve months; and if he will publish full details of his Department's web service availability.

Michelle Donelan: The department manages more than 400 services and transactions used by the education and care sector, as well as supporting internal departmental operations.The department is responsible for the standard and availability of these services. This includes formalising obligations commercially where services are outsourced.Over the last twelve months, the department’s service availability average across monitored services was 99.96%. Its service commitment targets, all of which encompass school hours, range from a minimum standard of 98% Monday to Friday (08:00 to 17:00), up to 99.95% 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, dependent on the service.Government departments are required to publish a standard set of performance metrics on their live services as part of the Service Standard. Service availability is not required. The department has no plans to publish availability data at present.

Free Schools: Safety

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the oversight of free schools in respect to safeguarding concerns.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in respect to how many free schools were safeguarding concerns raised in 2021.

Will Quince: Children’s wellbeing and safety in school is of the highest priority for the department. All schools, including free schools, are required by law to follow the statutory guidance about safeguarding. ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. In addition, academy trusts (every free school comes under an academy trust) must comply with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, available to view here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/schedule/made#:~:text=The%20Education%20%28Independent%20School%20Standards%29%20Regulations%202014%201,Quality%20of%20leadership%20in%20and%20management%20of%20schools. Part 3 sets out the required standards for ensuring the welfare, health and safety of pupils, and that such arrangements must have regard to any guidance issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education. Local authorities are responsible for investigating individual safeguarding concerns. Their responsibilities are summarised here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922910/schools_causing_concern1.pdf. The primary safeguarding role of the department, through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), is to consider whether an academy’s (and free school’s) safeguarding, child protection policies and complaints policies are compliant with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. Where concerns are raised about approach to and compliance with safeguarding requirements in an academy or free school, the ESFA will work closely with the trust to ensure they take action to address issues and meet the statutory requirements. In 2021, the ESFA received correspondence about safeguarding compliance in 81 free schools, of which only one case was assessed as an immediate risk. This case was referred to the Director of Children Services at the relevant local authority to take immediate action to ensure the wellbeing of that child.

Further Education: Social Mobility

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve social mobility in post-16 education for people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Alex Burghart: People in Coventry, the West Midlands, and throughout England can benefit from Further Education provision and specific skills polices, which can improve the social mobility of learners.The department wishes to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can undertake apprenticeships. We continue to pay additional funding to employers and training providers to support them to take on young apprentices, apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities, and care leavers. We are supporting the largest ever expansion of traineeships which are tailored to the needs of 16-24-year-olds, providing an opportunity to further develop skills.Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. There are several Skills Bootcamps available across Coventry and the West Midlands to support adult learners to gain in-demand skills in key sectors such as digital and HGV driving. The department will continue to expand the programme further following the announcement of £550 million additional funding at the Autumn Budget 2021.The department is committed to ensuring that T Levels are accessible to as many students as possible. We are rolling out the T Level Transition Programme, a one-year preparatory programme that supports young people to access T Levels.The department has implemented support in Further Education to facilitate participation by the most disadvantaged students including:Extra funding in the national funding formula for 16–19-year-olds - provided to institutions for students with low prior attainment, or who live in the most disadvantaged areas.Allocating over £530 million in the 2021/22 academic year to enable colleges, schools, and other providers to recruit, support, and retain disadvantaged 16- to 19-year-olds and to support students with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).Providing a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.Applying disadvantage uplift through the Adult Education Budget distributed by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), comprising increased funding for learners living in deprived areas.Providing funds to providers through the ESFA AEB to help adults overcome barriers to learning.The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK for places and people most in need. The first priority for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be a locally delivered new adult numeracy programme, Multiply, to help hundreds of thousands of adults improve their maths.

Overseas Students: Finance

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to student finance for British National Overseas students.

Michelle Donelan: To qualify for student finance in England, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the UK. This includes persons who are covered by EU law, have long residence in this country, or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office.Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British Nationals (overseas) status holders will qualify for student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK, as is the case for the majority of persons who are on a five-year route to settlement.

Apprentices: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the Government has allocated to businesses in Coventry to support the recruitment of apprentices in each of the last three years.

Alex Burghart: In the last three financial years, available funding for apprenticeships in England has remained at around £2.5 billion. This is twice more than was spent in the 2010/11 financial year. By the 2024/25 financial year, government funding for apprenticeships will rise to £2.7 billion.Funding is not allocated to individual areas for apprenticeships. Rather, all employers across England can access funding to offer high-quality apprenticeships to help meet their skills needs.There were 2,010 new apprenticeship starts in the Coventry constituency in the financial year 2020/21, with 2,250 and 2,610 starts in the 2019/20 and 2018/19 respectively. The government is unable to provide a breakdown of apprenticeship spending by region as it does not publish this data.The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy funds by improving the transfer system and developing more flexible models of apprenticeship delivery. This will enable more individuals and employers in all sectors to benefit from the high-quality, long-term training that an apprenticeship provides.

Department for Education: Disclosure of Information

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken in the last six months to ensure statistical information scheduled to be released by the Department is published on the Department's website in a timely and effective way.

Michelle Donelan: The department is committed to the transparent release of statistics, publishing in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Public releases by the department are made in line with its scheduled release calendar and publication dates are pre-announced via the GOV.UK portal for transparency.Decisions on timing are made by our Chief Statistician who works closely with statistics producers, relevant parties, and the Office for Statistics Regulation to ensure the availability of our data in the public interest. The accurate publication of statistics requires appropriate preparation and quality assessment, and decisions on timescales must account for the time required for these processes to take place reliably.To support the timely publication of statistics, the department has an ongoing programme of work to improve the efficiency of our statistics publication processes, whilst simultaneously working to enhance reliability and accessibility.As part of this programme of work, the department have built (and continue to develop in an agile way) the ‘Explore Education Statistics’ platform. The department have worked closely with users to provide a system that meets accessibility and usability requirements as effectively as possible, whilst helping our statistics producers create publications in a more efficient and timely way. This platform can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/.

Children in Care: Travellers

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure children from Gypsy, Travelling and Roma communities are placed with families from their own communities if they are taken into care.

Will Quince: A child’s background is an important consideration when placing a looked after child. This is evidenced in the law. When making a decision with respect to a looked after child (or one that they are proposing to look after), a local authority must (under s.22 (5) of the Children Act 1989) give due consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, as well as their racial origin, cultural and linguistic background.When it comes to placing a looked after child, the local authority must give preference to a placement with family or friends as foster carer. Where this is not possible, the local authority must place the child in the most appropriate available placement.As part of this decision, the local authority must comply with several factors. These include enabling the child to live near their home and not disrupting their education unless this is not reasonably practicable. Whilst a child’s background is important, local authorities have additional factors to consider to ensure the child’s needs and best interests are met.In relation to foster placements, regardless of whether a child is placed with a foster carer from their own religious, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic background, the Care Standards Act 2000 includes the National Minimum Standards for Fostering. These standards outline the necessity for care providers to ensure children are cared for in a way that ensures a positive self-view, emotional resilience, and knowledge and understanding of their background. This is also covered by reg 17 of The Fostering Services Regulations 2011.The department has invested in behavioural insights research on fostering recruitment. This is done to test the ways we can support fostering service providers to attract carers able to meet the needs of looked after children locally. This includes increasing numbers of diverse foster parents, notably Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic carers. This will be published in due course.

Coronavirus Workforce Fund for Schools

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, until what date funding through the Coronavirus Workforce Fund will be available to schools and colleges; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The COVID-19 workforce fund will provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges for costs incurred due to staff absences from 22 November 2021 until 8 April 2022. Following an extension from February half term until Easter, the fund is planned to end on 8 April. The claims portal will open in the spring for absence costs incurred across the current duration of the fund.

Department for Education: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training his Department has provided to its staff on contract design in each of the last ten years; how many hours of that training has been delivered in each of those years; and if will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: The department does not provide specific contract design training. Aspects of contract design is covered in training on the procurement process or contract lifecycle.We do not hold the information on the total amount of hours spent specifically on contract design in each of the last ten years.

Education: Staff

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to (a) increase recruitment to and (b) maintain retention of the education workforce.

Mr Robin Walker: The number of teachers remains high, with over 461,000 working in state-funded schools in England, 20,000 more than in 2010. The department is improving the process of becoming a teacher, from stimulating initial interest through world-class marketing, through to improving the application to initial teacher training (ITT). In October 2021, our new digital service, ‘apply for teacher training’, was rolled out. This is a key milestone in the delivery of a more streamlined, user-friendly application route.We are transforming the training and support we provide to teachers and school leaders, to not only attract more people into teaching, but encourage them to stay and thrive in the profession.We have created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support, and professional development for all new teachers, across ITT and into induction, to bring teaching into line with other prestigious professions, such as law, accountancy, and medicine. Underpinning this is the refreshed ITT core content framework and the early career framework. We have also launched a refreshed suite of fully funded National Professional Qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.To support recruitment of specialist secondary teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit for, we have put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £24,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free. This will encourage talented trainees for key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. Additionally, we have announced a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for teachers in these subjects in years 1 to 5 of their careers. We also remain committed to increasing teacher starting salaries to £30,000 to make teaching an attractive graduate option.Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality, and we are taking action to support teachers to stay and thrive in the profession. The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including by launching the education staff wellbeing charter, and by driving down unnecessary burdens and reducing teacher workload though the use of our workload reduction toolkit. Further information on the staff wellbeing charter and workload reduction toolkit are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter and here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.

Adult Education: Finance

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the adequacy of the funding available for adult education courses within (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Alex Burghart: We are continuing to invest in adult education for adults aged 19 and over through the adult education budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in each of the 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.Since the start of the 2019/20 academic year a proportion of the AEB has been devolved to a number of Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) including the West Midlands combined authority of which Coventry is a part, and the Greater London Authority (GLA) (approximately 50% of the budget was devolved in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years and 60% in the 2021/22 academic year). The MCAs/GLA are responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers.The AEB academic year allocations for the West Midlands are as follows:2019/20 academic year£125.6 million2020/21 academic year£135.9 million2021/22 academic year£131.7 million

Primary Education: Sign Language

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who learn British Sign Language in primary school.

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department provides for British Sign Language (a) resources and (b) teaching in primary schools.

Mr Robin Walker: The department does not collect information on the number of pupils who learn British Sign Language (BSL) in primary schools as it is not a mandatory subject for schools in England. The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for primary and secondary mainstream schools in England. Funding is distributed fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupil cohorts. Within the NFF, the department does not allocate funding specifically for British Sign Language resources and teaching (nor for any other subjects), and school leaders have flexibility over how they use their budgets to support the attainment and progress of their pupils. They may, if they choose, include BSL in their curriculum or offer it as an extra curriculum subject.

Schools: Assessments

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what impact assessments he has undertaken on the potential effect of reintroducing high stakes testing at primary level on (a) student and (b) staff wellbeing.

Mr Robin Walker: Pupil mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government. We prioritised reopening schools above all else because it is so vital for children and young people’s wellbeing, as well as their education. The support schools are providing to their pupils following the return to face-to-face education should include time devoted to supporting wellbeing, which will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing recovery. The expectations for schools in this regard are set out in the main departmental guidance to schools. This guidance also signposts further support and is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. Although schools should encourage pupils to work hard and achieve well, the department does not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessment, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. We trust schools to administer assessments in the appropriate way. Supporting the wellbeing and mental health of staff is a crucial element of our commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and colleges. This is why the department have worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to inform and deliver commitments to protect and promote staff mental health and wellbeing. All employers have a duty of care to their employees, and this extends to their mental health. The department published the education staff wellbeing charter, which we are encouraging schools and colleges to sign up to. The charter is a set of commitments from the government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. It can be used to inform a whole school or college approach to wellbeing or develop a staff wellbeing strategy. Further information on the charter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. As primary assessments will be returning for the first time since 2019, without any adaptations, the results will not be published in key stage 2 (KS2) performance tables in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The department will still produce the normal suite of KS2 accountability measures at school level. These will be shared securely with primary schools, academy trusts, local authorities to inform school improvement discussions. The department will also share the data with Ofsted to inform, but not determine, inspection outcomes. It is important to recognise that a school’s performance in the 2021/22 academic year may be affected by the uneven impact of COVID-19 on pupils and schools. That is why the department will ensure that clear messages are placed alongside any data shared, to advise caution in its interpretation, and will work with Ofsted to highlight these messages in inspector training.

National Tutoring Programme

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2022 to Question 121732, on National Tutoring programme, whether he has encountered practical barriers to publishing regional data on the operational aspects of participation in the National Tutoring programme.

Mr Robin Walker: The National Tutoring Programme is due to reach hundreds of thousands more pupils this year, as part of a significant expansion to give schools more flexibility to deliver tutoring that works for them, and ensure no child is left behind. The department is continuing to review the practicalities of publishing regional data.

Pupils: Dyspraxia

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department offers to schools and teachers in (i) identifying and (ii) supporting pupils with dyspraxia.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has provided to schools for support for students with dyspraxia in each year of the last ten years.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has provided on education beyond 16 to young people with dyspraxia in each of the last ten years.

Will Quince: The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.

National School Breakfast Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the National School Breakfast Programme not reaching its target of 2,500 schools by January 2022; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools enrolled on the National School Breakfast Programme have been issued breakfast food orders this academic year since 7 February 2022.

Will Quince: The government is committed to supporting school breakfast provisions. Accordingly, it is investing up to £24 million to extend the National School Breakfast Programme until July 2022. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better assist their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to be taught.As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools signed up for the programme, and 847 schools placed food orders. The government will continue to work with its supplier, Family Action, to monitor relevant data and consider suitable occasions to share more information on the programme as it progresses.Despite the number of challenges faced by schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has noted positive levels of interest in the programme. The enrolment process for the programme is still underway. The department has extended free breakfast provision beyond April 2022, allowing schools to receive free provisions until the end of July 2022. As a result, any school signing up to the programme now is still able to benefit from two terms worth of free food.

Turing Scheme

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timetable is for informing education institutions of the outcome of their bid for funding from the Turing Scheme.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many education establishments in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2022-23 were part of the Turing Scheme; how many of those education establishments have tuition fee waiver agreements; and in which countries do those waivers apply.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding did Welsh universities receive under the Erasmus scheme in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20 and (d) 2020-21; and how many students from Welsh universities studied overseas under that scheme in each of those years.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding did Welsh universities receive from the Turing Scheme in 2021-22; how many students from Welsh universities studied overseas under the Turing Scheme in 2021-22; and what estimate he has made of the (a) funding for and (b) number of students under that scheme in 2022-23.

Alex Burghart: The Turing Scheme is providing funding for 372 eligible organisations who successfully applied for the 2021/22 academic year, with over 41,000 expected participants. Of these, 13 organisations were Welsh, and these were provided with £5,170,829 of funding. Data on expected participant numbers at these Welsh institutions is not currently available. More details of the funding provided for the 2021/22 academic year is available here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.Regarding the number of educational establishments in Wales receiving Turing Scheme funding for 2022/23 and student numbers for 2022/23, we have no data on this yet as applications for the 2022/23 academic year have yet to be made. Data on this will only be available after bids are considered and results are known.The timetable for applications for Turing Scheme funds for the 2022/23 academic year will be published on the Turing Scheme website on 28 February 2022, along with the programme guide and application guide for this year. The Turing Scheme website is available here: www.turing-scheme.org.uk.The Turing Scheme is a genuinely UK-wide scheme. There is no proportioning of funds between nations; all will be considered on a competitive basis, as set out in the programme guide.Fee waivers for Turing Scheme participants are managed on an institutional level.The Erasmus+ UK National Agency publishes information on the amount of funding received by institutions for Erasmus+ projects from the UK National Agency and the European Commission. Data for each institution, across academic years 2014/15 to 2020/21 is available here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/funding-results.html. Figures on Erasmus+ student participation will also be published here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics.html.At the above statistics website, selecting “Project Mobilities & Outputs”, Table 2 of the file “2014-2019 Higher education mobility statistics” contains the number of outgoing Erasmus+ students by country of provider for academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19. Data for academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 is not published.

Education: Standards

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the rollout of Education Investment Areas (a) integrate with and (b) complement existing local post-16 education provision.

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the news story published by his Department on 1 February 2022, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that funding in Education Investment Areas is distributed within local authority areas according to need.

Mr Robin Walker: In the Levelling Up white paper, the government announced plans to drive school improvement in England through new Education Investment Areas (EIAs). These 55 local authorities will receive significant support, including retention payments to help schools with supply issues in these areas to retain the best teachers in high-priority subjects and investment in trust growth. The department will also be consulting on moving schools with successive requires improvement judgements by Ofsted into strong multi-academy trusts, which will enable such schools in EIAs to access the support they need to improve.As part of the government’s plans to drive improvement in education, the Levelling Up white paper sets out our intention to increase access to leading universities for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This will include targeting new specialist 16-19 free schools where they are most needed and prioritising EIAs when taking these decisions. In many areas of the country, colleges and schools are providing excellent opportunities for disadvantaged students to progress to leading universities. The intention of this policy is to reach those areas where students’ potential is not currently being realised.Decisions have not yet been taken on where new sixth forms will open, but the need for places and the quality of existing providers will be important considerations, just as in any other free school proposal. The department will set out further detail on the process for approving further free schools in due course.On distributing investment according to local need more broadly, the department has also announced it will make more intensive investment across some EIAs identified as priority areas, where there are entrenched barriers to school improvement. More details will be set out in the schools white paper in the spring.

Ministry of Justice

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the tribunals service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in respect of (i) personal independence payments, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) jobseeker's allowance and (iv) universal credit were successful in each of the last three years.

James Cartlidge: Information about the outcomes of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics SSCS appeals are listed into the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The published data (which can be viewed at the link above) provide information about the outcomes of (i) Personal Independence Payment (PIP), (ii) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and (iv) Universal Credit (UC) appeals for hearing venues covering (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England for the period requested. The table below contains this information for (iii) Job Seekers Allowance (JSA): CoventryWest Midlands1England22018/19~25%34%2019/2050%27%39%2020/21~~27%Q1 2021/22P100%~17%Q2 2021/22p86%39%30%Notes:SSCS data are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or heard at a specific venue. The proportion of successful appeals is based on the number of cases found in favour of the appellant at a tribunal hearing as a percentage of the cases heard at a tribunal hearing.1West Midlands includes the venues: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Coventry, Nuneaton, Stoke, Telford, Hereford and Worcester.2 Excludes SSCS Scotland Region and Wales Region. ~ Equates to a value of fewer than five P Provisional, in line with published data  Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. These data may differ slightly to that of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date.

Slavery: Sentencing

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that sentencing guidelines for modern slavery adequately reflect the severity of that crime.

James Cartlidge: Sentencing guidelines are issued by the Sentencing Council, which is independent of Parliament and Government. Last year, following public consultation the Council issued sentencing guidelines for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, such as slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. These are the first dedicated guidelines for offences under the Act. The guidelines aim to promote consistency of approach in this area of sentencing and help the courts pass appropriate sentences when dealing with these offences. The Government recognises there is yet more we can do to tackle this crime. We are currently reviewing the 2014 Modern Slavery Strategy to build on the progress we have made to date, adapt our approach to the evolving nature of these crimes, and continue our leadership in tackling modern slavery.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will respond to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice's report into the Criminal Cases Review Commission, published on 5 March 2021.

James Cartlidge: On 13 April 2021, Alex Chalk MP, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, responded to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice’s report into the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) at a Westminster Hall debate. During that debate, the Minister noted the CCRC’s good performance, the additional funding provided to it, and the position on the most significant recommendations in the report.

Prisoners: Location

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, at what average distance from their home address have (a) young adult prisoners, (b) adult prisoners and (c) children prisoners been held in each year since 2010, broken down by sex.

Victoria Atkins: A year-by-year summary of distance, in miles, from home for prisoners in the three listed age categories, in both female and male prisons is listed below. There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable and appropriate, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where prisoners have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments. Prison GenderFemaleAge Group15-1718 - 2021+14/05/2010-47.456.725/03/201154.944.347.131/03/201259.339.845.131/03/201358.739.145.531/03/201470.941.846.931/03/201577.337.543.931/03/201664.347.946.931/03/201772.035.246.431/03/201875.741.447.731/03/201969.244.049.131/03/202074.937.748.731/03/202169.839.747.025/02/202268.941.545.3 Prison GenderMaleAge Group15-17*18 - 2021+14/05/2010-48.451.125/03/201144.238.243.231/03/201249.734.443.531/03/201351.235.544.431/03/201444.435.843.531/03/201543.833.943.231/03/201647.536.543.431/03/201750.037.844.931/03/201849.436.445.331/03/201950.037.245.831/03/202049.835.050.831/03/202153.732.445.925/02/202253.932.645.4

Prisons: Glen Parva

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the name for the new prison in Glen Parva will be announced; and how many entries were submitted to suggest the new name.

Victoria Atkins: The name for the new prison at Glen Parva is expected to be announced in early March 2022. There were 132 entries submitted to suggest a name for the new prison during the consultation which ran from 10 December 2021 to 21 January 2022.

Prison Accommodation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of the location of the 4000 prison places he will create across 16 prisons through the building of new wings and refurbishing jails, as announced by his Department on 18 February 2022.

Victoria Atkins: The table below lists the 16 sites where the 4000 prison places will be delivered. This is subject to planning permission approval at some sites. HMP StockenHouseblockHMP Guys MarshHouseblockHMP High DownWorkshopHMP BirminghamRefurbishmentHMP LiverpoolRefurbishmentHMP NorwichRefurbishmentHMP FelthamRefurbishment (delivered)HMP AylesburyRefurbishment (delivered)HMP HaveriggRefurbishment (delivered)HMP Swinfen HallRefurbishment (delivered)HMP BullingdonHouseblockHMP Channings WoodHouseblocksHMP ElmleyHouseblockHMP HighpointHouseblocksHMP HindleyHouseblocksHMP WaylandHouseblock

Probate

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many estates granted probate after waiting more than (a) 6, (b) 9 and (c) 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and as a result of HMCTS increasing resources to meet demand, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required is between five and seven weeks. Some applications do take longer than this for a variety of reasons and this includes applications which have been stopped due to missing documentation or errors on the form. There can also be considerable delay in issuing a grant where an interested party raises a concern and asks the court to stay the application until that issue can be resolved.Probate grants1 issued in 20206, and those taking longer than 6, 9 and 12 months, England and Wales2  From submissionProbate grants issued   Total Probate grants issued3209,945   Of total grants issued, those where the time to issue was:6-9 months43,107   9-12 months5914   More than 12 months912Source: HMCTS Core Case Data   Notes: 1) Probate grants only. Excludes letters of administration with/without a Will2) The timeliness figures are produced by calculating the time from the date of application (which may be from an earlier period) to the date the grant was issued. This data includes those cases stopped for missing information or documentation and those stayed due to a caveat being entered by an interested party.3) Due to revisions this figure may differ slightly to those published in Family Court Statistics Quarterly4) Includes cases greater than 6 months and those up to and including 9 months 5) Includes cases greater than 9 months and those up to and including 12 months 6) We have used data from 2020 to show a full calendar year

Judiciary: Retirement

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119600, on Courts, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of plans to increase the statutory mandatory retirement age to 75 for judicial office holders on the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Justice published an Equality Statement and an Impact assessment alongside the consultation on increasing the mandatory retirement age (MRA) for judicial office holders, which included analysis of the impact on judicial capacity from raising the MRA. The assessment is that an MRA of 75 will retain around 400 judges and 2,000 magistrates more per year across the courts and tribunals, compared with an MRA of 70. The provision in the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill for the reinstatement of retired magistrates below the new mandatory retirement age, subject to business need, will also bolster magistrate numbers. The retention and reinstatement of these additional, experienced judges and magistrates will be beneficial to the criminal justice system. More than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals, and it is important we do everything possible to continue bearing down on the backlog. This measure will help to ensure we are maximising available judicial capacity, which is a key component of capacity overall.

Treasury

Bank Services: Disability and Older People

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to help improve access to alternative banking and payment options for (a) the elderly, (b) people with disabilities and (c) people with visual impairments.

John Glen: The Government wants to ensure that people, including those with characteristics of vulnerability, have appropriate access to banking services, which includes payment services. The Government works closely together with regulators and stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors. The way consumers interact with their banking is changing, with more consumers opting for the convenience, speed and security of digital services. In 2020, 83% of UK adults used contactless payments, 72% used online banking and 54% used mobile banking, according to UK Finance. In addition to bank branch services, alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. UK banks’ and building societies’ treatment of their customers is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its Principles for Businesses. This includes a general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all of their customers. The FCA’s Handbook requires firms to identify customers who exhibit characteristics of vulnerability, and to deal with such customers appropriately. In February 2021, the FCA also published guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, setting out a number of best practices. In addition, like all service providers, banks and building societies are bound under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary, in the way they deliver their services.

First Time Buyers: Young People

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide support to young families saving to buy their first home.

John Glen: The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, particularly younger individuals and families saving for their first home, through a programme of ‘own your home’ schemes. The following schemes are part of a package of measures to help people to save for their first house deposit and increase the supply of low-deposit mortgages for credit-worthy households. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan is available to all those who aspire to own a new build home, but struggle to access or afford the repayments on a low deposit mortgage. Under this part of the scheme the government provides an equity loan worth up to 20 per cent of the value of a new build home, interest free for the first five years. The equity loan must be paid back to the government on sale, or when the mortgage is repaid. This scheme has been extended to run until March 2023. In 2017, the government launched the Lifetime ISA (LISA) to support younger people saving for a first home or later life. Adults under 40 can open a LISA and save up to £4,000 each year until they turn 50. The government provides a generous 25 per cent bonus on all LISA contributions within these limits. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used as a deposit to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000. First-time buyers can similarly continue to save through a Help to Buy: ISA (now closed to new accounts) when saving to get onto the property ladder. The Government provides a 25 per cent bonus based on the account holder’s balance with a maximum bonus value of £3,000. Those participating into the scheme can continue saving into their account until November 2029 and have until December 2030 to claim their bonus. In response to the reduced availability of 95% Loan To Value (LTV) mortgages following the pandemic, the Government launched the mortgage guarantee scheme in April 2021 to reinstate the market for 95% LTV products and to support households who struggle to get a mortgage because of the very large deposits required by lenders but who can afford the mortgage repayments with a 5% deposit. The full list of Government schemes to help people own their own home is available here: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Energy: Prices

Angela Crawley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reducing VAT on energy bills on the consumer.

Lucy Frazer: The Government already applies a reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent on domestic fuel and power such as gas and electricity.The Government is providing significant financial support of up to £350 to the majority of households, which will cover more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This is more generous than removing VAT on domestic fuel and power, which would not be targeted because it would also benefit high-income households that do not need support. There would also be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts to all customers.While the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to remove VAT on domestic fuel and power.

Tourism: VAT

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending a reduced rate of VAT for the tourism sector; and what steps his Department is taking to provide financial support to that sector.

Lucy Frazer: The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, the Government extended the 5 per cent temporary reduced rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors until the end of September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced for these goods and services to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. The sector can continue to benefit from this relief until 31 March 2022. This relief has cost over £8 billion and, whilst all taxes are kept under review, there are no plans to extend the 12.5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. The Government has been clear that this relief is a temporary measure designed to support the sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. It is appropriate that as restrictions are lifted and demand for goods and services in these sectors increases, the temporary tax reliefs are first reduced, and then removed, in order to rebuild and strengthen the public finances.

Corporation Tax

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will confirm that Pillar 2 of the OECD Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting will not become operational in the UK in the event that international agreement is not reached on implementing Pillar 1.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional funding will be required by (a) his Department and (b) the OECD to ensure monitoring and compliance with the proposed Pillar 2 rules of BEPS 2.0.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is glad that on 8 October 2021 more than 130 countries reached agreement on a Two-Pillar Solution to the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. As per the detailed implementation plan set out in the October 2021 statement, the aim is that both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 will be implemented and effective by 2023. However, we cannot comment on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s funding requirements in this respect. As part of the implementation process, both Pillars will be subject to the standard tax policymaking process, with their impacts formally assessed through the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast process. Monitoring and compliance will be handled by HMRC, utilising their departmental budget allocated as part of the Spending Review 2021.

Energy Bills Rebate

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on consumer (a) rights and (b) choice of the introduction of the energy bills rebate.

Helen Whately: All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills. The reduction in costs will help people with the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households.

Alcoholic Drinks: Production

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate the Government has made of the relative average cost of production of (a) wine, (b) beer, (c) cider and (d) spirits; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Treasury considers production costs complex to estimate and, as different businesses will have different business models, costs will vary between individual producers. Officials have received data from some stakeholders who have chosen to share this information, however given the commercial sensitivity of it, the Government is not in a position to share it publicly. A consultation on the alcohol duty review ran from 27 October to 30 January, and the Treasury is now analysing the responses. The Government will continue to monitor the economic impact of our reforms, and welcome feedback from stakeholders on this point.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposals as published in the Alcohol Tax Review on the UK-Australia free trade deal; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Government does not anticipate alcohol duty reforms will impact the UK-Australia free trade deal. All products will be taxed on the basis of strength. Therefore, Australian producers will pay the same tax rates as producers in every other country, including the UK. The Treasury is continuing to engage with stakeholders, including the Australian Government, on these proposals and will continue to keep those impacted updated on the progress of our review.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Climate Change: Developing Countries

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK delivers on its obligations for annual climate funding for people in lower-income countries.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government provided £9.8 billion International Climate Finance (ICF) between April 2011 and March 2021. We are committed to providing a further £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26 (a doubling of our ICF spend in the previous five years), with an extra £1 billion in 2025 if the economy grows as forecast. We publish on an annual basis the results that our ICF achieves 2021 UK Climate Finance Results - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and details of our ICF spending are reported to, and published by, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat biennially (Fourth Biennial Reports - Annex I | UNFCCC).

Yemen: Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has offered assistance to the United Arab Emirates to help tackle incidences of terrorism in Yemen.

Amanda Milling: The UK takes international acts of terrorism seriously. As set out by the Foreign Secretary and Minister Cleverly on 17 January, the UK condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on the United Arab Emirates. We are in close contact with our Emirati partners and continue to offer our support to them including on maintaining their national security. We continue to work with the United Arab Emirates and other allies on agreeing a political and humanitarian solution for Yemen. We share concerns about the Houthis' continual attacks on civilians in Yemen and cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

British International Investment

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the British International Investment's spending commitments to (a) the private sector and (b) the third sector and not for profit organisations.

Amanda Milling: British International Investment (BII) - formerly the CDC Group - is the UK's Development Finance Institution. Its mandate is to enhance the role of the private sector to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Its mission is to help solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.In 2020, BII made £1.22 billion of new commitments to businesses in Africa and South Asia, where the vast majority of the world's poorest people live. BII's portfolio supports 1,200 businesses which directly employ almost 952,000 people and support many more.Third sector and non-profit organisations are supported through the other parts of the UK Aid programme.

Atlantic Council: Expenditure

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much money her Department has given the Atlantic Council in each of the last three years; and what the purpose of that funding was.

James Cleverly: The Atlantic Council is a Washington-based US think tank that works to enhance NATO public diplomacy in the US. The British Embassy in Washington supported four projects with the Atlantic Council over the past three years. These informed the trans-Atlantic debate on Global Value Chains and promoted understanding of the UK's Integrated Review, Global Britain, climate action and COP26. The cost in Financial Year 2019/20 was £24,542.87. and in 20/21 £64,010.58.

Finland and Sweden: NATO

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held recent discussions with her Swedish and Finnish counterparts on NATO membership.

James Cleverly: The UK Government engages regularly with Finland and Sweden, including on security issues. The UK fully supports Sweden's and Finland's relationships with NATO as Enhanced Opportunities Partners (EOP), and we also cooperate through the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. As two of only six EOP countries, Sweden and Finland make significant contributions to NATO operations and have enhanced opportunities for dialogue and cooperation with Allies. Any application for NATO membership must be a decision taken by Sweden or Finland alone, and the Government respects this position.

Development Aid

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of UK aid funds to ensure that they do not support Russian geo-strategic interests.

James Cleverly: The FCDO utilises overseas development assistance funding across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in line with the aid strategy. This simultaneously limits the ability of malign state actors, to achieve their strategic interests, while also strengthening the resilience of our partners' institutions and communities, which in turn reduces the risks reaching the UK.

Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Bishop of Truro’s report on the Persecution of Christians Overseas, what steps the Government has taken to implement recommendation 20 of that report.

Vicky Ford: The Government has agreed to take forward all of the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, including commencing work to achieve support for a UK-led UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) on the protection of religious minorities in conflict. The Minister of State responsible for human rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, hosted a successful Arria meeting in the margins of the UN Security Council in March 2021, raising awareness of persecution of religious minorities in conflict. This meeting brought together high profile speakers, including Ekhlas Khudur Bajoo (a survivor of sexual violence and ISIS captivity), the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Azza Karam (Secretary General of Religions for Peace) and Karim Khan (Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court). We continue to discuss the potential for a UNSCR with Council members.

Development Aid: Basic Skills

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2021 to Question 85317, which other 15 countries the UK supports bilaterally for foundational learning.

Vicky Ford: Our 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan set out the UK Government's commitment to improve basic education and focus on foundational learning for all. This is reflected in our bilateral programmes globally, which work to improve teaching, strengthen systems and support the most marginalised children, especially girls. This includes bilateral programmes to improve basic education in Pakistan, Lebanon, Tanzania, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, DRC, Myanmar, Jordan, Syria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Kenya and Afghanistan.We are shining a spotlight on the learning crisis internationally and improving ways of working at the country level by building a new Coalition on Learning with likeminded partners to emphasise the urgency of getting children's learning on track after two years of school closures. We are calling on all governments to keep schools open and to scale up efforts to get girls into school, assess children's learning levels and support children to catch up on learning by prioritising the basics.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of recruitment of child soldiers in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Vicky Ford: The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office reports that in 2021 the recruitment of children into armed conflict was the most documented violation of the rights of the child in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 210 cases of abduction of children by armed groups were documented in Ituri in 2021, including by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and CODECO. According to the DRC Protection Cluster, 376 children associated with armed groups were identified and taken into care in 2021. In reality this is likely to be an underestimate and many hundreds more children are still thought to be associated with armed groups in Ituri province. Association with armed groups has significant negative consequences, including exposure to physical and emotional violence, long-term trauma and lost schooling years. We are working with the Government of the DRC to ensure their approach to community-based disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and stabilisation includes a focus on the need to provide tailored support to children associated with armed groups. In addition, UK partners the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Children's Fund and MONUSCO's Child Protection Section continue to tackle the recruitment of children into armed conflict. To date, 43 commanders of armed groups have officially committed to MONUSCO for the protection of children, through signing a unilateral declaration and roadmap to end the recruitment and use and other serious violations against children.

Development Aid: Basic Skills

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to integrate the successful elements and key learnings of the EQUIP-T programme in Tanzania into its other education Official Development Assistance bilateral programmes aimed at improving children’s literacy and numeracy at scale.

Vicky Ford: The EQUIP-T education programme in Tanzania is a good example of an at-scale, sustainable programme that had a measurable impact on learning. It was recently included as an example in a global review of how best to improve learning at scale. It showed how the programme successfully improved literacy and numeracy skills for pupils, especially girls and more disadvantaged children, working with like-minded partners and supporting teachers to improve learning for all.The principles of this programme - strengthening the education system, supporting teachers and reaching the most marginalized - sit behind all of our programming. The Girls' Education Action Plan, which the Prime Minister launched last year, and the global education targets agreed at the G7 have reinforced the UK commitment to prioritise improving children's foundational learning at scale and we use data and evidence to do this effectively. Our programmes continue to be underpinned by the best available evidence, including learnings from the EQUIP-T programme - for example, our new programming in Bangladesh which we announced last year, and several new bilateral programmes currently under design. We routinely apply learnings and quality evidence to inform our approach - including the recommendations from the recent Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel report which reinforces the importance of focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy skills, working at scale and reaching the most marginalized children in order to address the learning crisis.

Gender Based Violence: Religion

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent sexual violence against women because of their religion or belief.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to integrate support for victims of sexual violence as a result of their religion or belief within UK foreign and development policy.

Vicky Ford: The Foreign Secretary has put ending violence against women and girls at the heart of UK foreign and development policy. Through our £67.5 million investment to the What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale programme, we are scaling up proven violence prevention approaches globally, including sexual violence, for the most at-risk groups of women and girls.In 2020, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for Human Rights, launched the Declaration of Humanity, which unites multiple faiths and beliefs to challenge damaging societal norms and calls for support for survivors of sexual violence internationally.Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what cost her Department has accounted each donated vaccine dose as in (a) July 2021, (b) August 2021, (c) September 2021, (d) October 2021, (e) November 2021, (f) December 2021 and (g) January 2022.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to account for the cost of covid-19 vaccine donations at their original purchase cost.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish (a) her Department's plans for accounting for future covid-19 vaccine donations (i) as a part of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending and (ii) in addition to ODA spending and (b) the cost of each dose.

Amanda Milling: The UK is currently considering the guidance provided by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) for reporting the value of donations of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 in Official Development Assistance (ODA). We are actively engaging with the OECD's DAC Secretariat on the reporting of the valuing Covid-19 vaccines in ODA in 2021.The 2021 Spending Review fully covers the cost of vaccine donations to meet the Prime Minister's commitment on donating 100 million surplus doses by June 2022 as part of the G7 dose-sharing commitments to vaccinate the world by 2022.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to including covid-19 vaccine donations on top of the 0.5% Official Development Assistance contribution for future years.

Amanda Milling: The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting the value of donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 2021 only. We will continue to engage as the DAC Secretariat review their methodology for the value of donations in 2022.The 2021 Spending Review fully covers the cost of vaccine donations to meet the Prime Minister's commitment on donating 100 million surplus doses by June 2022 as part of the G7 dose-sharing commitments to vaccinate the world by 2022.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish her Department's negotiating position on the price of covid-19 vaccine donations during (a) DAC and (b) OECD discussions.

Amanda Milling: The UK is currently considering guidance from the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) together with our other commitments and obligations. We are actively engaging with the OECD's DAC Secretariat on valuing Covid-19 vaccines in Official Development Assistance in 2021. The DAC Secretariat will review their methodology for donations in 2022. As discussions continue we will not comment on our negotiating position at this time.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many covid-19 vaccines of the pledged 100 million have been donated as of 23 February 2022.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish her Department's (a) plan and (b) schedule for the donation of the remaining committed covid-19 vaccine doses.

Amanda Milling: As of 23 February 2022, the UK has donated over 33 million doses. 31.5 million doses have been delivered to countries in need, of which 26 million have been delivered via COVAX and 5.5 million doses donated directly. A further 2.1 million doses have been received by COVAX and will shortly be allocated and shipped in line with COVAX's fair allocation model. Doses donated through COVAX arrive with COVAX direct from the manufacturer, with the same shelf-life as they would have if delivered to the UK for domestic use.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to provide financial support to cover the ancillary costs of each vaccine dose donated to low-income countries.

Amanda Milling: The UK has worked closely with COVAX on its recently published investment opportunity, including its financing assessments for the purchase and distribution of ancillary vaccination equipment. We are continually assessing the developing global vaccination picture, and considering how best to prioritise UK development spend.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure donated surplus vaccine doses are shared with low-income countries with sufficient time before expiry.

Amanda Milling: The UK supply chain is carefully managed to ensure that vaccine doses are used and have impact as quickly as possible, either in the UK or elsewhere.For all bilateral donations we have sought assurances that recipients have the capacity to roll-out the quantity of doses in line with the national vaccination programmes ahead of their expiry date. For donations through COVAX, the UK is working closely with COVAX and its international partners, such as UNICEF, to allocate vaccines according to need, facilitate the rapid delivery of doses and maximise the shelf life available to recipients.

Yemen: Food Supply

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of levels of food insecurity in Yemen.

Amanda Milling: The humanitarian situation in Yemen remains dire, with two thirds of the population in need of humanitarian assistance. UN needs assessments are underway and preliminary findings point to rising food insecurity and increased malnutrition. Conflict and the economic crisis coupled with reduced funding are compounding the problem. The UK is spending £87 million in aid in Yemen this financial year, which feeds around 240,000 of the most vulnerable Yemenis every month, supports 400 healthcare clinics and provides clean water for 1.6 million people. A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the humanitarian suffering.

Russia: Wheat

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the war in Ukraine on countries that receive a high proportion of their wheat imports from Russia, including (a) Sudan, (b) Yemen and (c) other countries in the MENA region.

Amanda Milling: The unfolding crisis in Ukraine has affected global markets and will further threaten the supply, availability and price of food. The FCDO is working urgently with our partners to better understand the impact of the invasion of Ukraine on food supplies, particularly in humanitarian crisis. The UK continues to provide lifesaving humanitarian support to both Sudan and Yemen.

Colombia: Demonstrations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has provided support to her Colombian counterpart on helping to protect community activists who protest against violence in that country.

Vicky Ford: Colombia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country and we regularly raise human rights concerns with the Colombian Government. Most recently, I spoke to Vice President Ramírez on 10 February about the human rights situation. This followed a visit to Colombia last November by the former Minister for Europe and Americas, who met with human rights defenders and social leaders to discuss how UK programmes can continue to support at-risk Human Rights Defenders and victims, and tackle the root causes of the violence.Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme in Colombia, which has provided £68 million in support of the peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders, social leaders and indigenous communities.

Development Aid: Basic Skills

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK’s multilateral education ODA investments on improving learning outcomes for children in literacy and numeracy.

Vicky Ford: In May 2021, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) began a results review of the UK's support to global education between 2015-2020, during which time we supported at least 15.6 million children with quality education. The review will examine UK bilateral aid, as well as aid to two multilateral education funds (Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW)), and our multilateral aid to education via the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). Publication of this review is expected in April 2022.In addition, FCDO publishes annual reviews of UK support to the GPE and ECW online on our Development Tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk), including progress with improving children's learning outcomes. Our 2021 annual review of GPE found that 70 percent of GPE partner countries with available data saw improvements in learning outcomes between 2015-16 to 2019-20. The review encouraged GPE, in future, to focus more on supporting and incentivising developing countries to use assessment systems to generate more and better data on children's learning outcomes in countries receiving GPE funding.

Freedom of Religion or Belief Summit

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief to ensure the success of the Freedom of Religion or Belief Summit in July 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in July 2022 will drive international efforts in defending FoRB for all and look at ways different religious or belief communities around the world can work together, and with governments and civil society. This conference will allow us to use our global influence and convening power to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally.Preparations for the conference are underway, including consultations with our international and domestic partners to consider possible themes and outcomes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working closely with the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, on this and wider conference planning.

Burkina Faso: Military Coups

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Burkina Faso on the army coup in that country.

Vicky Ford: As I set out in my statement on 25 January 2022, the UK condemns the coup d'etat by military forces in Burkina Faso, and calls for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all members of the civilian government who have been detained, including the former President Roch Kaboré. We are monitoring the political and security situation closely, and working with partners to encourage a swift, peaceful and constructive resolution to events. I set out the UK's continued support for the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) regional mediation efforts in a meeting with ECOWAS President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, on 22 February. I also discussed the situation in Burkina Faso with Ghana's Foreign Minister, Shirley Botchwey.

Multinational Companies: Human Rights

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure good human rights practice within multinational companies.

Vicky Ford: The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To further bolster our commitment to tackle modern slavery, in January 2021, the UK Government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. We have also enhanced Companies Act reporting (2013, 2016).The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment. The UK operates a National Contact Point (UK NCP) to promote the Guidelines and to run a non-judicial grievance mechanism to assess alleged non-compliance with the Guidelines. It also offers a platform for mediation and conciliation. The complaints mechanism can include the examination of instances where abuses of human rights may have occurred. The UK NCP also represents the UK at the OECD Working Party on Responsible Businesses Conduct.

Development Aid: Agriculture

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is she taking to ensure small-scale farmers in climate-vulnerable countries can access UK Aid.

Vicky Ford: FCDO's existing agriculture portfolio contains programmes that are specifically designed to help smallholder farmers in the most climate vulnerable countries to adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. For example, with UK International Climate Finance (ICF), we are supporting the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness programme (CASA) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) which help countries, producer organisations and agri-businesses to address climate change through the adoption of mitigation and adaptation technologies and much-needed related capacity building. These programmes focus exclusively on activities involving and benefiting smallholders, in particular supporting their adaptation and resilience. GAFSP in addition focuses exclusively on the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries.The most recent review of the wider FCDO portfolio on agriculture (available at https://www.casaprogramme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CAPR-2020_May_Final.pdf) found that 20 million farmers had their income improved (earning a total of £320 million more) and four million smallholders increased their agricultural productivity over the period under consideration.The UK has committed to doubling its spend on International Climate Finance (ICF) to £11.6 billion over the next five years and as we mobilise these funds we will continue to support the most vulnerable people, including farmers, adapt and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Development Aid: Equality

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK aid had gender equality as a (a) significant and (b) principal objective in 2020.

Vicky Ford: Tackling gender inequality and standing up for the rights of women and girls around the world is a core part of the UK Government's mission. This was reinforced in the Integrated Review.FCDO's Overseas Development Aid spend, including data against the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gender policy marker, is made publicly available through the OECD statistics portal. The latest figures available (2019) show that approximately 68% of the former Department for International Development (DFID) and the former Foreign & Commonwealth Office's (FCO) total bilateral spend was marked principal or significant and equates to £5.2 billion. OECD are due to publish 2020 figures shortly.

Iran: Detainees

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that any hostage release deal as part of the Vienna talks includes the release of all British nationals held in Iran including Anoosheh Ashoori.

James Cleverly: It is unhelpful to connect the release of detainees to wider issues. We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Research

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many projects so far have been funded by £6.6 billion committed to research, development and experimentation over the next four years in the defence command paper.

Jeremy Quin: The £6.6 billion research and development (R&D) ringfence announced as part of Speding Round (SR)20 and includes existing R&D spend across the defence programme in addition to the new investment totalling £1.1 billion over the SR period. This aims to implement a set of R&D pipelines which will address critical and enduring military capability challenges to deliver a decisive strategic edge for our armed forces now and in the future. This new investment consists of around seven programmes and 16 projects, including the following capabilities:Enhanced command and controlAnti Submarine WarfareMulti Domain Integrated SwarmsDirected Energy WeaponsIntelligence, Surveillance and ReconnaissanceIntegrated SpaceCyber Defence and Artificial Intelligence Other defence-wide investment in R&D includes the Defence Innovation Fund which has funded over 60 projects this financial year, and R&D in support of the equipment programme such as Future Combat Air System.

RAF Valley: Training

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Texan trainer aircraft operating from RAF Valley have been fitted with the Universal Water Activated Release System harness.

Jeremy Quin: All 14 of the Texan T MK1 aircraft operated at RAF Valley are fitted with the Universal Water Activated Release System harness.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft: Guided Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason Meteor integration on the F-35b has been delayed.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason SPEAR integration on the F-35b has been delayed.

Jeremy Quin: The scheduled delivery dates for METEOR and SPEAR 3 have been delayed owing to prioritisation in the overall F-35 development programme, managed by the US led F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO). SPEAR 1 (Paveway 4) has already been integrated on UK F-35B Lightning aircraft.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an estimate of the number of staff planning to leave his Department in the event that they achieve financial qualifications.

Leo Docherty: While we do not currently have a reliable indicator of turnover intentions among our finance studiers, we do offer Recruitment and Retention Allowances to those who achieve CCAB/CIMA financial qualifications to demonstrate the value we place in these professional qualifications. Accountancy Recruitment and Retention allowances (RRAs) are awarded to qualified accountants up to and including Grade 6 in the Department to support retention of qualified staff. RRAs do not apply in Defence Equipment & Support or the Submarine Delivery Agency, as they have been consolidated into base salaries.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of when his Department will achieve its target that 60 per cent of its staff obtain financial qualifications.

Leo Docherty: As at the end of December 2021, there were 2,898 people in the finance profession, of which 1,238 (43%) have a finance qualification. If this number is combined with the number who are currently studying for a finance qualification, 1,565 (54%) are either qualified or studying. At middle and senior management levels, the proportion of qualified finance staff is well above the 60% target, with 86% of Finance SCS and 75% of Finance Grade 6/7 staff qualified. Professionalism and skills are vital to improving financial outcomes and we are committed to achieving a target of 60% of the finance profession holding a qualification but recognise that it will take time to increase levels of qualified staff.In this instance, a finance qualification is defined as either:CCAB/CIMA (Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies/Chartered Institute of Management Accountants). This is a Level 7/Masters equivalent or;A level 4 finance qualification (HNC equivalent) accredited to an Accountancy Institute.

Armed Forces: Housing

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Defence Accommodation Strategy will be published; and for what reason that strategy was not published as part of the defence command paper of 2021.

Leo Docherty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 February 2022 to Question 125482 to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard).The Defence Command Paper was published in March 2021 whilst the Ministry of Defence only made the commitment to publishing a Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) in June 2021, in response to a recommendation from the Public Accounts Committee's report Living in Single Living Accommodation. There was, therefore, never any intention for the DAS to be published as part of the Defence Command Paper, as the Paper pre-dates the conception of the DAS.Armed Forces: Housing  (docx, 18.8KB)

RAF Scampton: Red Arrows

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to ensure that flying space above and around RAF Scampton is preserved for the use of the RAF Aerobatic Team once his Department disposes of that site.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence has no requirements to preserve the restricted flying space above and around RAF Scampton for the use of the RAF Aerobatic Team and the site will be sold without any encumbrances.

Antitank Missiles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has any plans to restock the Army's support of Main Battle Tank and Light Anti-tank Weapon, also known as NLAW.

Jeremy Quin: For Operational Security reasons, I cannot comment on stock numbers for Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons (NLAW). However, I can assure you that we monitor stock availability for UK forces and take action, where required, to maintain appropriate stock levels.

Special Forces: Defence Equipment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide further details of how the £1.1 billion allocated to new Special Forces equipment is planned to be spent.

Jeremy Quin: It has been the longstanding position of successive Governments not to comment on the capabilities of the UK special forces, as to do so would put personnel and operations at risk.

AWACS: Costs

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the CDEL costs on the purchase of the E-7 Wedgetail has not changed despite the programme reprofiling.

Jeremy Quin: The data tables in the Project Performance Summary Table (PPST) that accompanies the Defence Equipment Plan are a snapshot as at 31 March 2021, and the decision announced in the Integrated Review to reduce the fleet size from five aircraft to three had not been formally enacted in the MOD's cost forecasting system at that point. The new forecast is currently being finalised ahead of the PPST22 data capture and the Defence Equipment Plan for 2022 will show the new reduced figure.

Military Aid: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces medics are (a) deployed and (b) planned to be deployed in hospitals in Northern Ireland.

James Heappey: As at 1 March 2022, there are 52 Defence Medics deployed in support of Northern Ireland hospitals, with a further 28 personnel undertaking supporting roles. This Military Aid to the Civil Authorities task began on 28 January 2022 and is expected to conclude on 2 March. Currently, there are no requests for further military support to Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.

Defence Equipment: Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to provide defensive military equipment to Ukraine.

James Heappey: In light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in line with our previous support and with our partners and allies, the UK will provide further defensive equipment to Ukraine. This will build on previous capabilities delivered to Ukraine and could include lethal aid in the form of defensive weapons, and non-lethal aid such as body armour and helmets.

Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for a decision on the UK’s continued participation as a force contributor in UN MINUSMA.

James Heappey: Following the announcement that France will withdraw its Counter Terrorism Operation Barkhane from Mali, we are examining the impact on the UK's continued support to the United Nations MINUSMA mission. Some critical enablers for the UK's continuation sit with the French force. We are in discussions with other European allies to consider whether these could be replaced.

Integrated Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Review

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Royal Navy is suitably resourced to fulfil the role assigned to it by the Integrated Review.

James Heappey: To maximise the value from Integrated Review investment in the Maritime domain, the Ministry of Defence attributes resources as efficiently as possible to deliver against operational outputs and the procurement programme.The Royal Navy (RN) is experimenting with different crewing models to inform the requirements for future classes of ships, and this will in turn guide the overall RN workforce requirement at both sea and shore.

RAF Valley: Training

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what further steps his Department has taken to reduce noise disruption from Texan trainer aircraft operating from RAF Valley.

James Heappey: In training our future fast jet pilots, RAF Valley plays a vital role in our national security. It has taken a number of measures to minimise disturbance to local communities from the Texan aircraft, including spreading operational training as widely and equitably as possible, rotating regularly through training areas in any day; conducting an increased proportion of Texan flights over the sea; and increasing the amount of training conducted in simulators.

Cameroon: Air Force

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Minister for the Armed Forces had discussions on Marshall Aerospace’s contract with the air force of Cameroon on his visit to that country in 2021.

James Heappey: I did not discuss the Marshall Aerospace maintenance contract during my visit in 2021.

Cameroon: Armed Forces

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Human Rights Watch report of abuses by Cameroon’s Battalion d'Intervention Rapide published in December 2021.

James Heappey: The UK is committed to working with regional allies in West Africa to tackle violence in the Lake Chad area. We directly work with Cameroonian forces on capacity building to tackle violent extremist groups in the Far North. Our training includes a focus on international human rights standards.We are aware allegations of abuses attributed to the Battalion d'Intervention Rapide (BIR). We have emgaged with the BIR on this incident. The BIR recently reaffirmed assurances that any forces accused of human rights violations will be investigated and those found guilty will be punished. We will monitor the outcome of any investigation, and we are keeping our security cooperation in the Far North of Cameroon under constant review.

Cameroon: Military Aid

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost is of the bespoke military skills facility the Government is building in Yaounde, Cameroon; and through which budget is that facility being funded.

James Heappey: The bespoke military skills facility the UK is building in Yaoundé costs £250,000 and is funded from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseeker's Allowance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance payments made to people resident in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK in each year since 2000.

Mims Davies: Information on Contributory and Income Based JSA for England and Scotland is available here. A breakdown of the value of Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance payments made to people resident in Scotland is not currently available.

Pensioners: Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she will take to ensure that people of pensionable age have sufficient money to pay their rents in addition to their household bills.

Guy Opperman: We have a comprehensive package of measures to help pensioners. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people, and the value of it has been steadily increasing since 2010. In 2020/21 the total welfare spending in Great Britain on Pensioners was £125.1 billion. This included around £5.5 billion for Housing Benefit to support pensioners with their rental costs. Pensioner spend is forecast to increase this year. Pensioners who are in receipt of the guarantee credit element of Pension Credit as well as Housing Benefit receive their maximum eligible rent less any non-dependant deductions (if applicable). Pensioners renting in the social sector have their rent paid in full (subject to deductions for excess income and non-dependants), they are not subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy policy. Pensioners renting in the private rented sector have their housing benefit determined by the local housing allowance (LHA) rate. In April 2020 LHA rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received. LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels in 2021/22 and will remain at those levels for 2022/23, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.

Adoption Allowance: Self-employed

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will introduce an adoption allowance comparable to Maternity Allowance for the self employed.

Guy Opperman: The Government has no plans to extend adoption pay to self-employed adopters. Local Authorities can make discretionary payments to self-employed adopters who do not qualify for adoption pay.

Fuels: Prices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that rising cost of fuels prices does not lead to an increase in levels of pensioner poverty.

Guy Opperman: We have a comprehensive package of measures to help pensioners. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people, and the value of it has been steadily increasing since 2010. From April, subject to Parliamentary approval, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £720 more in 2022/23 than if it had been up-rated by prices since 2010; a rise of over £2,300 in cash terms. Over the last two years the basic and new State Pension has increased by over 5.6%. In addition, around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive around £5 billion annually in Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income and act as a passport to other financial help, such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75. The overall trend in the percentage of pensioners living in poverty shows a significant fall over recent decades and there are 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10. Customers of State Pension age are also entitled to an annual winter fuel payment worth up to £300. Cold weather payments and the warm home discount may also be paid to those in receipt of Pension Credit. Further support for pensioners includes free eye tests and NHS prescriptions worth around £900m every year and free bus passes worth £1bn every year.The Chancellor’s announcement on 3 February of a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23, will also be available to eligible pensioners. The devolved administrations are receiving around £715 million funding through the Barnett formula.

Social Security Benefits: Deductions

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the relationship between people owing money to her Department as a result of benefit claims and their use of food banks.

David Rutley: No assessment has been made.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Game: Birds

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of cages in the breeding of game birds; how many animal welfare inspections of game bird farms in England and Wales were undertaken in 2021; how many of those visits resulted in action being taken against the person responsible for a welfare breach; and whether follow up inspections were carried out in those circumstances.

Jo Churchill: The Government shares the public's high regard for animal welfare. We are delivering a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. We are actively exploring options for improving the welfare of farmed animals and are considering the case for introducing further reforms, in areas such as the use of cages for gamebirds.We need to gather evidence on the welfare of gamebirds and the use of cages in the sector to inform future policy development. The expectation is that we will be calling for evidence later this year. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carry out targeted inspections on gamebird breeding and rearing units in response to intelligence received. Intelligence led monitoring and offering advice on compliance are key components of all APHA inspections. Where welfare regulations are breached, appropriate action is always taken. According to APHA records, 10 inspections took place in England and Wales in 2021. One inspection in England resulted in non-compliances being identified and a follow up inspection was carried out to ensure corrective action had been taken.

Furs and Pâté de Foie Gras: Imports and Sales

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the (a) import and (b) sale of (i) real fur and (ii) foie gras as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had any discussions with the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency on proposals to ban the import of (a) fur and (b) foie gras.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to ban the import of (a) fur and (b) foie gras.

Jo Churchill: Now we have left the EU, the Government is able to explore potential action in relation to animal fur. We are reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published soon. The Government has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding raises serious welfare concerns. We do not allow its production in the UK. We are now able to consider any further steps that could be taken in relation to foie gras that is produced overseas using force feeding practices, such as restrictions on import and sale. We are gathering information and will continue to speak to a range of interested parties about the issues involved. This is in line with the Government's commitment to improving animal welfare standards as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.

Lakes and Rivers: Litter

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle littering in (a) lakes and (b) rivers.

Jo Churchill: The Litter Strategy for England sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation by focusing on education and awareness, improving enforcement and better cleaning and access to bins. The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, published by Defra, sets out the standards of cleaning that litter authorities are expected to be able to achieve on waterside land. The riparian owner is responsible for clearing watercourses and waterside land but other authorities may also have duties and powers. For example, in England, the Environment Agency will remove items or accumulations of litter that could restrict flow and increase flood risk on statutory main rivers. Local authorities and internal drainage boards have comparable powers on other ‘ordinary watercourses’. With support from Defra, and in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, the Scouting Association have developed a pack containing information to help Scouts and Explorers understand the impact of plastic on wildlife, the waterways and oceans, and take practical action about issues affecting their local area.

Miscanthus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increased cultivation of miscanthus in the UK, in meeting the commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Jo Churchill: The Climate Change Committee’s 6th Carbon Budget report highlighted the significant potential for domestic cultivation of perennial energy crops, like miscanthus, and short rotation forestry to contribute towards our carbon budget targets. The Government intends to publish a Biomass Strategy later this year, that will set out our view on how biomass can best contribute towards net zero across the economy, including the potential role for perennial energy crops like domestically grown miscanthus. In parallel with the development of the Biomass Strategy, the Government has announced £30 million of funding for the Biomass Feedstocks Innovation programme, which is designed to increase the production of sustainable UK biomass feedstocks. Under Phase 1 of the programme, 25 projects were supported to develop innovation ideas, with the portfolio of biomass feedstocks including five Miscanthus focused projects. The knowledge developed from these projects will help to inform any future policy on domestic biomass.

Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the decrease in EU veterinarian registrants coming to work in the UK.

Jo Churchill: As part of a joined-up approach, Defra worked across Government and with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and British Veterinary Association to successfully ensure that the veterinary profession was placed on the Home Office held Shortage Occupation List in 2019. This means that employers can continue to recruit overseas veterinary surgeons without a cap on numbers. New veterinary schools are being opened at Harper Adams and Keele, the Scottish Agricultural Colleges, the University of Central Lancashire, a joint venture between the Royal Veterinary College & the University of Aberystwyth as well as the recently accredited University of Surrey veterinary school. This means that veterinary education is expanding in the UK and will allow a greater number of graduates trained here to enter the profession in the longer term.

Game: Birds

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timescale is for the completion and next stages of the Government’s review of game bird welfare and game bird cages.

Jo Churchill: We need to gather evidence on the welfare of gamebirds and the use of cages in the sector to inform future policy development. The expectation is that we will be calling for evidence later this year.

Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has any plans to limit bottom trawling in marine protected waters.

Rebecca Pow: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The UK is at the forefront of marine protection with 372 protecting 38% of UK waters. Management measures now protect sensitive features from bottom towed fishing gears in 98 of English inshore MPAs. We are also developing an ambitious three-year programme for assessing sites and implementing appropriate byelaws to manage fishing activity in all English offshore MPAs.

Flood Control: River Ouse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of flood predicting equipment at River Ouse level at Viking Recorder; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure information about a predicted flood is (a) accurate and (b) communicated to the public.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency (EA) uses flood modelling to understand the risk of flooding at a local and a national level. The modelling is linked to a network of river gauges which allows the EA to predict potential river levels and if needed issue warnings. The flood models use a range of information to help make them as reliable as possible and this is reviewed and examined rigorously after every flooding incident. The EA uses its flood warning system to directly alert those at risk when flooding is expected so that they can take action to prepare for any impacts. Over 1.5 million properties are signed up to receive these warnings. In York over 7,300 property owners are signed up to the flood warning service and receive flood warning alerts via text, phone or email. This represents over 75% of properties in flood warning areas in York. The Viking Recorder in York is used to monitor actual river levels on the River Ouse. The measurement equipment is visited every two months for a calibration check and adjustments are made to check if the recorder falls outside defined tolerance levels. A modelled computer forecast of river levels at the Viking Recorder is provided on gov.uk here: https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/8208 The EA advises that members of the public and businesses check if their property is at risk of flooding here https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding and sign up for flood warnings here https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings.

Fisheries

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made of an assessment of the impact of (a) offshore wind farms, (b) underwater cabling and (c) marine protected waters on British fishing fleets.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish an impact assessment for offshore wind farms on British fishing fleets.

Rebecca Pow: Marine licensing decisions and Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation and management are devolved matters. The information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government is committed to a sustainable and thriving fishing sector, to delivering 40 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, and to ensuring healthy and productive seas. To help deliver on these commitments Defra is leading a cross-Government programme of work to consider Marine Spatial Prioritisation. The overarching goal of the programme is to optimise the use of our seas, balancing the needs of sea users and protection of the marine environment. As part of this, projects are underway to consider the cumulative impacts of marine developments on fisheries and to identify opportunities for co-location. In order for developments to be consented their impacts on other sea users, including fishermen, have to be considered. The impacts on the fishing industry of MPAs are assessed when new sites are designated and when byelaws regulating those areas are developed. MPA can have benefits for fisheries and their sustainability. Increases in abundance and density of fish stocks arise from better protected, healthier environments. Studies show that uplifts in stock can spill over into adjacent areas that allow fishing, benefitting commercial and recreational sectors.

Floods: Insurance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make funding available to support businesses that have not been able to claim insurance following flood damage in winter 2021-22.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make flood grants available to all businesses that have experienced (a) economic loss and (b) damage due to recent floods.

Rebecca Pow: The Government recognises the impact that flooding incidents have on communities and sympathises with those affected. Whilst some communities have been badly affected, we have thankfully not seen the severe, widespread impacts that were forecast. The Government Flood Recovery Framework is typically only activated where severe weather with significant impacts has occurred across multiple local authorities. The Framework is run by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and activation of the framework is an agreement made across Government. Businesses in high flood risk areas can shop around for the best insurance quote and could consider using an appropriate broker. There are already several innovative products being offered to businesses by the industry such as the British Insurers Brokers Association scheme to help small and medium-sized enterprises and provide flood cover for those that are ineligible for Flood Re. Other innovative solutions include insurers who offer increased flood excess with reduced premiums, and parametric insurance which allows property owners to set the level of premium in line with an agreed level of risk.Defra is working with the insurance industry and the wider commercial sector to help businesses become more resilient to flooding, through the joint government and industry Property Flood Resilience (PFR) roundtable and through the development of a PFR roadmap by the end of 2022.

Food Supply

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the National Food Strategy White Paper will be published.

Victoria Prentis: The forthcoming Government Food Strategy will set out the Government's ambition and priorities for the food system, considering the evidence set out in Henry Dimbleby's independent review and building on additional topics. We are actively collaborating across Government to cover the entire food system and consider the unforeseen challenges that the agri-food sector has faced this last year since the independent review was published. We expect to publish the Government Food Strategy shortly.

Cats: Imports

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of a ban on the import of pregnant cats that are more than 42 days pregnant..

Victoria Prentis: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. In 2020 no pregnant cats were seized and detained. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.

Pigmeat: Industry

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect the pig industry from the affects of increases in feed prices.

Victoria Prentis: Domestic feed prices are strongly influenced by global markets for feed cereals and soyabeans. These are currently trading at historically high prices due to tight global supplies. I recognise the impact that this is having on the UK agricultural industry including the pig sector. We continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with the pig sector on this issue and the other challenges they continue to face at the present time. I recently met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive. They are encouraging any farmers, especially those who might normally be reluctant to speak to their bank, to contact them.

Cats: Imports

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a ban on the import of cats which have been declawed.

Victoria Prentis: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.

Cats: Imports

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a ban on the import of kittens under six months of age.

Victoria Prentis: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs, for example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared to 543 puppies. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.

Food: Procurement

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to launch a call for evidence on the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering prior to the introduction of the revised GBSF planned for Summer 2022.

Victoria Prentis: We will be consulting on public sector food and catering policy following publication of the Food Strategy White Paper due to launch shortly. The consultation will seek views on ways to promote greater take-up of local, and sustainable produce and make public procurement more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. The consultation will be an exciting opportunity for producers and consumers of public sector food to have their say and make suggestions to help shape future policy. We look forward to receiving input to the consultation from the sector, and more information will be released in due course once the consultation date has been confirmed.

Horticulture: Staff

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an adequate labour supply for the horticultural sector in the (a) short and (b) long term.

Victoria Prentis: On 24 December 2021, the Government announced that the seasonal worker visa route would be extended through to 2024. As with the Pilot, it allows overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available in 2022. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 visas if there is clear evidence of need. While acknowledging the sector's reliance on foreign workers, the UK is committed to becoming a high-skilled, high-wage economy and the Government has been clear that more must be done to attract UK workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology. To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among UK workers. As announced in December 2020, Defra has undertaken a review of automation in horticulture during 2021, covering both the edible and ornamental sectors in England. It is due to be published in early 2022. Our response to the review will work alongside the seasonal worker visa route - and Defra's efforts to attract more UK residents into agricultural work - to support the overall aim of reducing the sector's dependency on seasonal migrant labour Defra is also engaging with the operators of the seasonal worker visa route to prepare and advance emergency plans in response to the situation in Ukraine. Operators can recruit from any country they choose for the seasonal workers visa route and operators recruited seasonal works from almost 50 countries in 2021.

Home Office

Actionfraud: Staff

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people work for ActionFraud (a) in total and (b) focussing on cyber-fraud.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

British Nationality: Russia

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many high net-worth Russian people were granted British citizenship on the basis of their wealth in each year since 2010 broken down by people who subsequently (a) retained and (b) renounced Russian citizenship.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Napier Barracks

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to publish the Home Office planning consultation for Napier Barracks from January 2022; and how the submissions on that matter will be used by her Department.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from Ukraine she is planning to take into the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what accommodation she plans to make available for refugees from the Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to fast track visas for Ukrainian citizens coming to the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Children

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will exclude children from transfer to her proposed offshore asylum processing centres.

Tom Pursglove: The Government has made our position clear on this during committee and report stage for the Nationality and Borders Bill. To be definitive about exemptions from proposed offshore asylum processing at this stage would not only hamper its potential to be effective but also incentivise people smugglers to target the most vulnerable. This policy, alongside a suite of other critical measures, is designed to deter individuals from making dangerous and unnecessary journeys from safe countries, removing demand for organised criminal gangs operating small boats routes and avoid further tragedies in the English Channel.Every removal will be in line with our domestic and international obligations. People in scope for removal will be able to rely on their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights so as not to be transferred to a country where they would genuinely be at risk of inhuman and degrading treatment.

Hate Crime

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hate crime (a) allegations and (b) arrests were made in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017, (ii) 2018, (iii) 2019, (iv) 2020 and (v) 2021.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information is not held on the number of hate crime allegations or arrests.Information on the number of hate crime offences recorded by the police can be found in the Home Office statistical bulletin ‘Hate crime, England and Wales, 2020 to 2021’

Visas: Afghanistan

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan journalists have received UK visas and been resettled in the UK since 1 August 2021.

Victoria Atkins: The Government responded swiftly to the fast-moving and challenging events in Afghanistan, including supporting the largest and fastest evacuation in recent history. We can be proud as a country that we helped over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan in August 2021 and we continue to do all we can to enable those who are eligible to relocate to the UK.There have been approximately 100 Afghan journalists who have been evacuated and brought to safety since 1 August 2021. Those who entered were granted Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR) for 6 months, this status is not a bar to them being permanently housed or to starting their life in the UK.The Home Office is currently supporting those here in the UK to assist them to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain status.

Housing: Antisocial Behaviour

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent advice and support her Department has provided to local authorities on tackling anti-social behaviour occurring around residential dwellings.

Kit Malthouse: The Social Housing White Paper, published in November 2020, sets out measures to support social housing tenants who are facing anti-social behaviour (ASB). The Government has published an information guide clarifying the different responsibilities that police, local authorities and their landlords have in tackling ASB.The Regulator of Social Housing is designing new ‘Tenant Satisfaction Measures’ which will give tenants information about their landlord’s performance: the proposed measures include the number of ASB cases relative to the size of the landlord and tenants’ satisfaction with their landlord’s approach to handling ASB.

Knives: Crime

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has held with the Mayor of London on the level of knife crime in London.

Kit Malthouse: Tackling knife crime is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.The Home Secretary met with the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in January this year to discuss policing priorities in London, including reducing serious violent crime.

Retail Trade: Crime

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the level of retail-related crime.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the of the impact of retail-related crime on the mental health of victims.

Kit Malthouse: We recognise the significant and long-lasting impact retail crime can have on its victims. We are continuing to work closely with the retail sector and the police through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. We are also working closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses, including the retail sector, and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together to tackle crime.The NRCSG has been working with retailers to develop resources to make it easier for employers to report crimes and provide appropriate support to employees who are victims of these crimes, in particular violence and abuse towards shop workers. The downloadable resources are free to use and are available here: https://brc.org.uk/nrcsg-against-shop-worker-abuse-and-violence/

Drugs: Driving Under Influence

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) speed of lab testing oral fluid rather than blood samples as evidential confirmation of drug driving offences.

Kit Malthouse: No such assessment has been made. We have been advised by the National Police Chief’s Council that, despite some backlogs with blood samples last year, toxicology supply has now significantly increased, and all backlogs have been cleared.We will continue to monitor the situation as appropriate.

Migrants: Finance

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of levels of in-work exploitation or abuse among migrants with no recourse to public funds.

Rachel Maclean: The hidden nature of modern slavery makes producing an accurate measure of its scale difficult. In March 2020 the Office for National Statistics noted that there is no definitive source of data or suitable method available to accurately quantify the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/modernslaveryintheuk/march2020Nevertheless, the Government is committed to improving its understanding of the nature and scale of this complex crime. In July 2019, the Government announced a £10 million investment to create a new Policy and Evidence Centre for Modern Slavery and Human Rights to transform our understanding of modern slavery. The Home Office will continue working with the Centre and other partners to strengthen the evidence base underpinning our policy and operational response to modern slavery.

Domestic Abuse: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many disclosures were made through the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme in each month since April 2020.

Rachel Maclean: Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and the Government continues to take action tackle it. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), also known as Clare’s Law, is an important tool designed to keep people safe. The scheme has two routes:“Right to Ask”: this enables someone to ask the police about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts.“Right to Know”: the police can proactively disclose information in prescribed circumstances.As part of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 we are putting the guidance on which the DVDS is based into statute. This will impose a duty on the police to have regard to the guidance and will strengthen the visibility and consistent operation of the scheme.Data from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services on the number of applications and disclosures made under the DVDS is published annually. The latest published figures can be found here: Domestic abuse and the criminal justice system - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).For the year ending March 2021, there were 6,405 “Right to Know” disclosures and 7,037 “Right to Ask” disclosures, in England and Wales[1],[2],[3].[1] Applications will not result in disclosure if there is no information to disclose.[2] At the time of collection or re-submission, the following police forces provided only partial Right to Know disclosures data for the year ending March 2021; Dorset. Data received after the cut-off date has not been included.[3] At the time of collection or re-submission, the following police forces provided only partial Right to Ask disclosures data for the year ending March 2021; Dorset and Greater Manchester. Data received after the cut-off date has not been included.

Visas: Russia

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will publish a list of Russians who have been granted fast track visas under the recently discontinued investor visa scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not, for data protection reasons, publish personal details of those who make an application under the Immigration Rules.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) increase the number of eligible individuals receiving compensation from the Windrush Compensation scheme and (b) decrease the time taking to issue compensation.

Kevin Foster: To the end of December 2021, we have offered or paid more than £41 million in compensation of which £35.3 million has been paid.Since April 2019 we have attended or hosted approximately 200 outreach and engagement events, reaching over 3000 people.In 2020, we launched a new national communications campaign, to make sure those most affected around the UK are aware of the support available to them and how to apply for both schemes.We have designed the compensation scheme to be as clear and simple as possible, so people do not need legal assistance to make a claim.We have made the evidential threshold as low as possible and the scheme operates fully on the balance of probabilities.Our intent is that we ask for the minimum evidence necessary to reduce the burden on individuals whilst maximising the offers we can make.In doing so we are seeking to strike the right balance between ensuring the scheme is comprehensive and covers the broadest range of circumstances and making it easy to navigate.For those who want or need support to make a claim the Home Office provides free assistance in making applications through our independent claims assistance provider - We Are Digital.We are processing claims as quickly as possible - this is our priority. However, we recognise we have more to do to decrease the time between submission and decision on claims.To do this we are recruiting additional caseworkers, directing resources to maximise final decision output and refining our processes so cases progress as quickly as possible, including revising our data-sharing agreements with other departments.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the review into registered sex offenders changing their name through deed poll will be published.

Rachel Maclean: Protecting the public from sex offenders and other dangerous criminals is a top priority for the Government. We are committed to ensuring that the system and the monitoring that underpins the management of these offenders is as robust as it can be, and that the relevant safeguards are in place.The review of offenders and name changes is nearing completion. As it is an internal review there are no plans to publish the findings, however, these will be used to inform future policy making.

Visas: Journalism

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendation of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom to introduce a new emergency visa for journalists at risk.

Kevin Foster: We maintained a regular dialogue with the FCDO in response to the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom’s recommendations, including meeting with the report’s author. The Foreign Secretary wrote to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 2 February 2022 with our full response.The Home Secretary’s existing discretion to grant leave as outlined in the New Plan for Immigration and ability to use this – for example in exceptional humanitarian circumstances – is sufficient to respond to such individuals. We have already seen discretion used in the context of the Afghanistan crisis.In August 2021, we offered granted over 70 journalists and other employees of UK media organisations, including employees from BBC World Service, the Guardian, and The Times, leave to enter the UK outside the rules.Further, journalists are eligible to apply under the skilled worker route of the Points-Based system, providing they meet the specified requirements.

Napier Barracks: Contracts

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been for private contractors to manage and run Napier Barracks to date.

Kevin Foster: Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts

Refugees: Resettlement

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on delivering the Emergency Resettlement Mechanism; and on what date that programme will open.

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will set annual resettlement targets as part of the Emergency Resettlement Mechanism.

Kevin Foster: The Government will pilot an Emergency Resettlement Mechanism to provide urgent protection in exceptional circumstances to refugees referred by UNHCR as in need of rapid emergency resettlement. The successful emergency evacuation of approximately 15,000 people from Afghanistan to the UK has significantly increased demand on available local authority housing and support. As a direct result, the commencement of the pilot has been put on hold temporarily.

RAF Manston: Asylum

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) migrants the Home Office plans to accommodate in Manston Barracks.

Kevin Foster: Manston consists of a variety of different accommodation facilities. These will be managed dynamically depending on numbers of arrivals, the makeup of those arrivals and the availability of onward accommodation.

Cushman and Wakefield

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid to Cushman and Wakefield to draft the planning statement on Napier Barracks.

Kevin Foster: Accommodation costs including costs associated with the provision of goods and services related to accommodation are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Homelessness

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that abandoned and unused buildings are utilised to increase the number of bed spaces available to homeless people.

Eddie Hughes: This Government has committed over £800 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year. This includes £202 million through the Rough Sleeping Initiative, funding up to 14,500 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England. The £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme will provide 6,000 move-on homes and accompanying support services to those who are rough sleeping or who have a history of sleeping rough.The Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) has placed a strong emphasis on the use and refurbishment of empty or moribund housing, stock with notable examples in the North of England. This includes the 'Right Sizing' initiative in Liverpool to modernise 70 empty and largely 2-bed properties with downstairs bathrooms, by moving the bathroom upstairs and creating high quality housing for single people or couples. Fairmount Lodge in Bradford has modernised a long-term empty building to create modern homes for 18 rough sleepers, and Champions Court in St Helens has taken two blocks of long-term empty, fire damaged or small flats and created modern homes for 28 rough sleepers.In addition, whilst the Affordable Homes Programme is focussed on the development of new supply, through the Programme, grant funding is available to turn empty private sector homes into new social and affordable homes.

Housing: Greater London

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking through the Help to Buy scheme to ensure that more new-build properties within the maximum threshold for London properties have three or more bedrooms.

Stuart Andrew: In 2021 the new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme introduced regional property price caps which set the maximum purchase price in each region. They are all set at 1.5 times the forecast regional average first-time buyer price, in line with the Office of Budget Responsibility's house price inflation forecast for 2021/22, up to a maximum of £600,000 in London.The caps were designed to support the purchase of properties that are more consistent with the wider first-time buyer market. The Government has reviewed the caps and continue to be satisfied they allow good availability of first-time buyer type properties in each region. For customers who are not able to utilise the Help to Buy scheme, the Government has a range of other housing products. For more information see: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Derelict Land: Regeneration

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department provides to local authorities to help regenerate derelict land.

Stuart Andrew: At Spending Review 2021, the Government announced £1.5 billion to regenerate underused land and deliver transport links and community facilities. This funding will help to unlock sites across the country that the private sector alone will not deliver, alongside a further £300 million locally led grant funding that will be distributed to Mayoral Combined Authorities and local authorities to help unlock smaller brownfield sitesThese announcements build on our existing, extensive support for growth and regeneration, including the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund that has funded town and city centre regeneration schemes in places across the UK. Future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will build on this investment and the billions of pounds of investment made through the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund, Getting Building Fund and Brownfield Housing Fund.

Homelessness

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that there are sufficient beds to accommodate all homeless people in the UK.

Eddie Hughes: The Government has committed over £800 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year. This includes £202 million through the Rough Sleeping Initiative - an 80% increase from last year - funding up to 14,500 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.We are also helping people find longer term accommodation: the £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme will provide 6,000 move-on homes, available as long-term assets, and accompanying support services to those who are rough sleeping or who have a history of sleeping rough.The Government will be spending over £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next 3 years, with multi-year funding enabling local partners to better plan services and maximise efficiencies - demonstrating our commitment to build on recent progress.

Derelict Land: Regeneration

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what powers local authorities posses to purchase derelict buildings and land for regeneration purposes.

Stuart Andrew: Local authorities have various compulsory purchase powers which they can use to acquire and develop derelict buildings and land, including for regeneration purposes. These include powers under Part 9 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to compulsorily purchase land for development and other planning purposes. As announced in the recent Levelling Up White Paper, we intend to bring forward improvements to compulsory purchase powers to enable more effective land assembly and support regeneration. Further details will be announced in due course.

Social Rented Housing

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how he plans to assess the impact of the provisions in the Building Safety Bill and associated Building Safety Funding proposals on the delivery of new social housing and improvements to existing social homes.

Stuart Andrew: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) continues to have regular conversations with social landlords and their representative bodies about the implications of the Building Safety Bill and the Building Safety Fund for their residents and their work to build and improve social housing. DLUHC continue to work to ensure that residents live in safe buildings.The Building Safety Bill provides that the effectiveness of key elements of the new legislation, including the Building Safety Regulator and the regulatory system for building safety, will be examined at least once every five years through an independent review. 123 applications are currently progressing through the Building Safety Fund with £128 million committed.

Housing Estates: Regeneration

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department provides to local authorities for the regeneration of existing housing estates.

Stuart Andrew: £100 million for the Brownfield Land Release Fund includes support for local authorities for estate Regeneration. In 2021 / 2022 £14.2 million of capital grants has been allocated to 14 existing social housing estates across England.The Levelling Up White Paper sets out the importance of regeneration on the economic and social missions of Levelling Up and we will be exploring with local leaders how we can support places further.

Social Rented Housing: Carbon Emissions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help support local authorities with encouraging the building of net zero social housing.

Eddie Hughes: The Government has given councils a comprehensive range of tools to deliver a new generation of council housing. Alongside these ambitions, the Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050; we must ensure that the energy efficiency standards we set through the Building Regulations for new homes put us on track to meet the 2050 target.From 2025, the Future Homes Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75% fewer CO2 emissions compared to those built to the 2013 standards. These homes will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency.In December 2021, we introduced an uplift in energy efficiency standards that provides a stepping-stone to the Future Homes Standard. Once the uplift comes into force, in June 2022, new homes will be expected to produce around 30% fewer CO2 emissions compared to the previous 2013 standards, marking an important step on our journey towards a cleaner, greener built environment and net zero by 2050.

Buildings: Insulation

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance has been issued to mortgage lenders on the requirement for an external wall survey for blocks of flats under 18 metres.

Stuart Andrew: An EWS1 form is not a statutory or regulatory requirement nor ​a​ safety ‘test’. The measures in the January Statement, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-new-plan-to-protect-leaseholders-and-make-industry-pay-for-the-cladding-crisis, provide a clear framework for proportionate risk assessments whilst encouraging lenders to base their risk management on the presumption that medium risk buildings are safe, unless there is evidence to the contrary.Government also supports the independent expert statement from July 2021 which was clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in residential buildings under 18 metres and that EWS1s should not be required by lenders on buildings under 18 metres.We will continue to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process, as well as pressing for more data so that we can have greater assurance that EWS1 requests are proportionate, including in buildings under 18 metres.

Cabinet Office

Cybercrime: Business

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cyber attacks there have been in each of the last five years on UK companies by a hostile state.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cyber attacks which have involved ransomware in each of the last five years on UK companies by a hostile state.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cyber attacks in each of the last five years on UK public sector organisations by a hostile state.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a breakdown of the costs of ransomware demands for UK businesses in the last three years.

Michael Ellis: Our National Cyber Strategy - launched in December 2021 - sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks. The Strategy is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.  Over the past five years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with over 3300 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK:590 in 2017,557 in 2018,658 in 2019,723 in 2020, and;777 in 2021. The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows the following percentage of businesses identified a cyber attack across the UK:39% in 2021,46% in 2020,32% in 2019,43% in 2018, and;46% in 2017. We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks against UK companies, or attribute responsibility for every attack. HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt cyber threats emanating from overseas. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2022 to Question 126664 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, whether the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is working on the small boats taskforce.

Michael Ellis: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, both in that role and as the Downing Street Chief of Staff, continues to play an important role supporting the Illegal Migration Taskforce. He is assisted by Michael Ellis MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Suicide

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died by suicide by (a) council area, (b) region and (c) constituency in each of the last 10 years months for which data is available.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 23 February is attached.At the request of the UK Statistics Authority, I have placed in the library a table of the number of suicides by parliamentary constituency. UKSA response (pdf, 116.6KB)

Statistics: UK Relations with EU

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to establish arrangements for statistical cooperation between the UK and EU, as envisaged by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 22 February is attached.UKSA response (pdf, 106.5KB)

Department for International Trade

Pottery: India

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of its proposed free trade agreement with Indian on the ceramics industry in the UK.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade launched trade negotiations between the United Kingdom and India on 13th January, which could create huge benefits for both countries. HM Government is seeking to secure a beneficial and balanced outcome, offering new export opportunities for British businesses in one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Digital Technology and Internet: Older People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the additional costs incurred by elderly people as a result of a lack of access to the internet and other digital technology.

Chris Philp: The Government’s 10 Tech Priorities include building a tech-savvy nation where no-one is left behind by the digital revolution. The Government aims to ensure that services are built to meet the needs of users, whether that is online or through alternative routes.To tackle the digital divide and support connectivity, DCMS has worked closely with the telecoms industry to support vulnerable consumers with the removal of data caps on fixed broadband packages, and providing free or low cost data boosts on mobile services.Training is available for elderly people wishing to acquire essential digital skills. The Government has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge.Public libraries play a key role in helping to tackle digital exclusion. Around 2900 public libraries in England provide a trusted network of accessible locations offering free WiFi, access to computers and digital support provided by staff and volunteers.Charities such as AgeUK and AbilityNet also play an important role in providing help with technology and the internet.

Football: Females

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that girls have equal access to football in schools.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is absolutely committed to supporting girls’ sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation. The Government is looking forward to hosting the rescheduled women’s UEFA European Championships in 2022. The tournament's National Promotion Programme will help to deliver on the Football Association’s commitment to ensure equal access for all girls to play football in school and clubs.Other activities to inspire more women and girls to take up the sport include signposting to women’s and girls’ participation opportunities, a pre-tournament nation-wide ‘activity’ challenge for all ages and backgrounds and a pre-tournament host city Roadshow. In addition, as part of the Spending Review, £205 million of funding for grassroots football and multi-sport facilities was announced, which will help to contribute to ensuring girls across the country have the football facilities they need in their community, including in schools.

Sports: Security

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to breaches in the security of Wembley Stadium during the Euro 2020 final, what steps she is taking to help ensure that large sports fixtures are not susceptible to security breaches by people without tickets.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK Government has been working with relevant departments and external organisations to ensure lessons are learned from the disorder on 11 July. This includes working with partners - including sports grounds (and their safety management teams), who are ultimately responsible for safety within the grounds, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), the Football Association and the police, who are responsible for safety outside of sports grounds - to ensure action is taken based on the findings of the review conducted by Baroness Casey of Blackstock.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of children who are unable to take part in National Citizen Service due to the cost of attending.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure children and young people from low income families are able to access opportunities with the National Citizen Service.

Nigel Huddleston: The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a universal programme that is available to all 15-17 year olds, and maintains a policy that no young person is prevented from taking part because of cost.NCS is able to engage a diverse group of young people, over-indexing in participation rates compared to the national population for certain priority groups. In 2019, 23% of participants were on free school meals (compared to 14% nationally) and 16.3% were living in Opportunity Areas (compared to 14.4% nationally).NCS ensures that young people from low income families can access the programme through various measures:Bursary schemes, which cover 80% of the participant contribution, reducing it to £10 or, in some cases, entirely. In Summer 2021, over 10,000 young people accessed a bursary.The NCS Inclusion Fund, which enables NCS’s network of providers to remove barriers to taking part in the programme, supporting young people with transport, food, and kit. In 2021, almost 300 young people benefited from the fund.A dedicated community engagement team focused on increasing accessibility by considering differing levels of deprivation and connecting with local youth organisations and Local Authorities.Nonetheless, there is a perceived barrier for some. 2021 survey results from 1,640 young people show that for those not interested in participating in NCS, 7% cited cost as the reason. This is significantly lower than other reasons including wanting to spend time doing other things and concerns about coronavirus. NCS remains committed to removing these perceived barriers and continues to develop approaches to overcoming them.

Erasmus+ Programme and European Solidarity Corps

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to replace the international opportunities for young people previously accessed through the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus+ programmes.

Nigel Huddleston: In light of the changing needs of young people and due to the pandemic, DCMS reviewed its programmes and funding for out-of-school provision to ensure it achieves maximum impact and levelling up opportunities. As a result, at the 2021 Spending Review, the government decided that DCMS should continue to focus on domestic youth provision through a National Youth Guarantee for young people and DfE will continue to offer the Turing Scheme, an international educational exchange scheme that has a genuinely global reach and increases social mobility.The Turing scheme is backed by £110 million, providing funding for over 41,000 overseas placements for students in universities, colleges and schools, starting in September 2021.48% of the overseas placements receiving Turing Scheme funding are for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds and areas which did not previously have many students benefiting from Erasmus+, making life-changing opportunities accessible to everyone across the country. The second year of the Turing Scheme will open for applications shortly, at which point youth organisations will be able to review the eligibility criteria when considering applying for funding.

Streaming: Regulation

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has been made on bringing streaming services such as Netflix under the regulation of Ofcom.

Julia Lopez: Video-on-demand services like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are not regulated in the UK to the same extent as linear TV channels, some services, like Netflix, are not regulated in the UK at all. On-demand services are not subject to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code which sets out appropriate standards for content including harmful or offensive material, accuracy, fairness and privacy.The Government launched a consultation in August 2021 to level the playing field between traditional broadcasters and video-on-demand streaming services, to provide a fair competitive framework and ensure UK viewers are better protected from harmful material. We are now considering the response to the consultation and will publish next steps in due course.

Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel has met since it was established; which Ministers attended each meeting; and if she will publish the minutes of each meeting of the Panel.

Julia Lopez: The Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel was established in November 2020 in order to provide independent expertise and advice for the government’s strategic review of public service broadcasting.Since its establishment, the Panel has met six times, on the following dates: (i) 19 November 2020; (ii) 14 January 2021; (iii) 24 March 2021; (iv) 18 May 2021; (v) 21 July 2021; and (vi) 24 November 2021. It is not expected to meet further.The first meeting was attended by the then Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP; the second, third, fourth and fifth meetings by the then Minister of State for Media and Data, the Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP; and the sixth by the Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez MP.In accordance with the Panel’s published terms of reference, the government does not intend to publish the minutes of the Panel. The Government will set out the conclusions of its strategic review of public service broadcasting in due course.

COP26

Geothermal Power

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the President of COP26, what assessment he has made of the role of geothermal energy in delivering the UK's COP26 commitments.

Alok Sharma: Geothermal energy has a role to play as part of a diversified energy mix and last year, I visited a geothermal facility connected with the Eden Project, which is receiving demonstrator funding from the government.

Climate Change

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the President of COP26, what comparative impact assessment he has made of the use of imported critical minerals and domestically-sourced minerals on delivering COP26 commitments.

Alok Sharma: The Government’s critical mineral strategy, to be published this year, will focus on a resilient, long term supply chain for critical minerals, addressing both domestic and international opportunities. The Government is also establishing a Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to provide robust, dynamic analysis on stocks and flows.

Climate Change: Carbon Capture and Storage

Neale Hanvey: To ask the President of COP26, what recent assessment he has made of the role of carbon capture and storage in meeting the UK's climate change and COP26 commitments.

Alok Sharma: Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) will of course play a role in meeting the UK’s 2050 net zero commitment. As we announced in our Ten Point Plan in November 2020, our aim is to establish CCUS in at least two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two by 2030, subject to value for money and affordability considerations.